Computational systems and methods for identifying a communications partner

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatuses, computer program products, devices and systems are described that carry out accepting at least one telephone communication from at least one member of a network; disambiguating the at least one search term including associating the at least one search term with at least one of network-participation identifier data or device-identifier data; and presenting the sender profile in association with the at least one telephone communication.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims the benefit of theearliest available effective filing date(s) from the following listedapplication(s) (the “Related Applications”) (e.g., claims earliestavailable priority dates for other than provisional patent applicationsor claims benefits under 35 USC §119(e) for provisional patentapplications, for any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent,etc. applications of the Related Application(s)). All subject matter ofthe Related Applications and of any and all parent, grandparent,great-grandparent, etc. applications of the Related Applications,including any priority claims, is incorporated herein by reference tothe extent such subject matter is not inconsistent herewith.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 13/373,871, entitled COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORIDENTIFYING A COMMUNICATIONS PARTNER, naming Marc E. Davis, Matthew G.Dyor, William Gates, Xuedong Huang, Roderick A. Hyde, Edward K. Y. Jung,Jordin T. Kare, Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Qi Lu,Mark A. Malamud, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Satya Nadella, Daniel Reed, HarryShum, Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L. Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed2 Dec., 2011, which is currently co-pending, or is an application ofwhich a currently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit ofthe filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/199,832, entitled COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR LINKING USERS OF DEVICES, naming Marc E. Davis, Matthew G.Dyor, William Gates, Xuedong Huang, Roderick A. Hyde, Edward K. Y. Jung,Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Qi Lu, Mark A.Malamud, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Satya Nadella, Daniel Reed, Harry Shum,Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L. Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 7 Sep.2011 which is currently co-pending, or is an application of which acurrently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of thefiling date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/199,829, entitled COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR LINKING USERS OF DEVICES, naming Marc E. Davis, Matthew G.Dyor, William Gates, Xuedong Huang, Roderick A. Hyde, Edward K. Y. Jung,Royce A. Levien, Richard T. Lord, Robert W. Lord, Qi Lu, Mark A.Malamud, Nathan P. Myhrvold, Satya Nadella, Daniel Reed, Harry Shum,Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L. Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 9 Sep.2011 which is currently co-pending, or is an application of which acurrently co-pending application is entitled to the benefit of thefiling date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/200,806, entitled COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR DISAMBIGUATING SEARCH TERMS CORRESPONDING TO NETWORKMEMBERS, naming Marc E. Davis, Matthew G. Dyor, William Gates, XuedongHuang, Roderick A. Hyde, Edward K. Y. Jung, Royce A. Levien, Richard T.Lord, Robert W. Lord, Qi Lu, Mark A. Malamud, Nathan P. Myhrvold, SatyaNadella, Daniel Reed, Harry Shum, Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L.Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 30 Sep. 2011 which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/200,810, entitled COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR DISAMBIGUATING SEARCH TERMS CORRESPONDING TO NETWORKMEMBERS, naming Marc E. Davis, Matthew G. Dyor, William Gates, XuedongHuang, Roderick A. Hyde, Edward K. Y. Jung, Royce A. Levien, Richard T.Lord, Robert W. Lord, Qi Lu, Mark A. Malamud, Nathan P. Myhrvold, SatyaNadella, Daniel Reed, Harry Shum, Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L.Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 30 Sep. 2011 which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/373,542, entitled COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR REGULATING INFORMATION FLOW DURING INTERACTIONS, naming MarcE. Davis, Matthew G. Dyor, William Gates, Xuedong Huang, Roderick A.Hyde, Edward K. Y. Jung, Jordin T. Kare, Royce A. Levien, Richard T.Lord, Robert W. Lord, Qi Lu, Mark A. Malamud, Nathan P. Myhrvold, SatyaNadella, Daniel Reed, Harry Shum, Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L.Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 16 Nov. 2011 which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the presentapplication constitutes a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/373,572, entitled COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR REGULATING INFORMATION FLOW DURING INTERACTIONS, naming MarcE. Davis, Matthew G. Dyor, William Gates, Xuedong Huang, Roderick A.Hyde, Edward K. Y. Jung, Jordin T. Kare, Royce A. Levien, Richard T.Lord, Robert W. Lord, Qi Lu, Mark A. Malamud, Nathan P. Myhrvold, SatyaNadella, Daniel Reed, Harry Shum, Clarence T. Tegreene, and Lowell L.Wood, Jr. as inventors, filed 17 Nov. 2011 which is currentlyco-pending, or is an application of which a currently co-pendingapplication is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.

The United States Patent Office (USPTO) has published a notice to theeffect that the USPTO's computer programs require that patent applicantsreference both a serial number and indicate whether an application is acontinuation, continuation-in-part, or divisional of a parentapplication. Stephen G. Kunin, Benefit of Prior-Filed Application, USPTOOfficial Gazette Mar. 18, 2003. The present Applicant Entity(hereinafter “Applicant”) has provided above a specific reference to theapplication(s) from which priority is being claimed as recited bystatute. Applicant understands that the statute is unambiguous in itsspecific reference language and does not require either a serial numberor any characterization, such as “continuation” or“continuation-in-part,” for claiming priority to U.S. patentapplications. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Applicant understands thatthe USPTO's computer programs have certain data entry requirements, andhence Applicant has provided designation(s) of a relationship betweenthe present application and its parent application(s) as set forthabove, but expressly points out that such designation(s) are not to beconstrued in any way as any type of commentary and/or admission as towhether or not the present application contains any new matter inaddition to the matter of its parent application(s).

All subject matter of the Related applications and of any and allparent, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. applications of the Relatedapplications is incorporated herein by reference to the extent suchsubject matter is not inconsistent herewith.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This description relates to data capture and data handling techniques.

SUMMARY

An embodiment provides a system. In one implementation, the systemincludes but is not limited to circuitry for accepting at least onetelephone communication from at least one member of a network; circuitryfor associating the at least one telephone communication with a senderprofile at least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data andthe sender's network-participation identifier data; and circuitry forpresenting the sender profile in association with the at least onetelephone communication. In addition to the foregoing, other systemaspects are described in the claims, drawings, and text forming a partof the present disclosure.

In one or more various aspects, related systems include but are notlimited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting theherein-referenced method aspects; the circuitry and/or programming canbe virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmwareconfigured to effect the herein-referenced method aspects depending uponthe design choices of the system designer.

In one or more various aspects, related systems include but are notlimited to computing means and/or programming for effecting theherein-referenced method aspects; the computing means and/or programmingmay be virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmwareconfigured to effect the herein-referenced method aspects depending uponthe design choices of the system designer.

An embodiment provides a computer-implemented method. In oneimplementation, the method includes but is not limited to accepting atleast one telephone communication from at least one member of a network;associating the at least one telephone communication with a senderprofile at least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data andthe sender's network-participation identifier data; and presenting thesender profile in association with the at least one telephonecommunication. In addition to the foregoing, other method aspects aredescribed in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of thepresent disclosure.

An embodiment provides an article of manufacture including a computerprogram product. In one implementation, the article of manufactureincludes but is not limited to a signal-bearing medium configured by oneor more instructions related to (a) accepting at least one telephonecommunication from at least one member of a network; (b) associating theat least one telephone communication with a sender profile at leastpartly based on the sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data; and (c) presenting the senderprofile in association with the at least one telephone communication. Inaddition to the foregoing, other computer program product aspects aredescribed in the claims, drawings, and text forming a part of thepresent disclosure.

An embodiment provides a system. In one implementation, the systemincludes but is not limited to a computing device and instructions. Theinstructions when executed on the computing device cause the computingdevice to (a) accept at least one telephone communication from at leastone member of a network; (b) associate the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data; and (c) present the sender profile in association withthe at least one telephone communication. In addition to the foregoing,other system aspects are described in the claims, drawings, and textforming a part of the present disclosure.

In addition to the foregoing, various other method and/or system and/orprogram product aspects are set forth and described in the teachingssuch as text (e.g., claims and/or detailed description) and/or drawingsof the present disclosure.

The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications,generalizations, inclusions, and/or omissions of detail; consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary isillustrative only and is NOT intended to be in any way limiting. Otheraspects, features, and advantages of the devices and/or processes and/orother subject matter described herein will become apparent in theteachings set forth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

With reference now to FIG. 1, shown is an example of a system forlinking users of devices in which embodiments may be implemented,perhaps in a device and/or through a network, which may serve as acontext for introducing one or more processes and/or devices describedherein.

FIG. 2 illustrates certain alternative embodiments of the system forlinking users of devices of FIG. 1.

With reference now to FIG. 3, shown is an example of an operational flowrepresenting example operations related to linking users of devices,which may serve as a context for introducing one or more processesand/or devices described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 11 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 12 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

FIG. 13 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

With reference now to FIG. 14, shown is a partial view of an examplearticle of manufacture including a computer program product thatincludes a computer program for executing a computer process on acomputing device related to linking users of devices, which may serve asa context for introducing one or more processes and/or devices describedherein.

With reference now to FIG. 15, shown is an example device in whichembodiments may be implemented related to linking users of devices,which may serve as a context for introducing one or more processesand/or devices described herein.

FIG. 16 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 3.

With reference now to FIG. 17, shown is an example of a system fordisambiguating search terms corresponding to network members in whichembodiments may be implemented, perhaps in a device and/or through anetwork, which may serve as a context for introducing one or moreprocesses and/or devices described herein.

With reference now to FIG. 18, shown is an example of an operationalflow representing example operations related to disambiguating searchterms corresponding to network members, which may serve as a context forintroducing one or more processes and/or devices described herein.

FIG. 19 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 22 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 23 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 24 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 25 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 26 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 27 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 28 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

FIG. 29 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 18.

With reference now to FIG. 30, shown is a partial view of an examplearticle of manufacture including a computer program product thatincludes a computer program for executing a computer process on acomputing device related to disambiguating search terms corresponding tonetwork members, which may serve as a context for introducing one ormore processes and/or devices described herein.

With reference now to FIG. 31, shown is an example device in whichembodiments may be implemented related to disambiguating search termscorresponding to network members, which may serve as a context forintroducing one or more processes and/or devices described herein.

With reference now to FIG. 32, shown is an example of a system foridentifying a communications partner in which embodiments may beimplemented, perhaps in a device and/or through a network, which mayserve as a context for introducing one or more processes and/or devicesdescribed herein.

With reference now to FIG. 33, shown is another example of a system foridentifying a communications partner in which embodiments may beimplemented, perhaps in a device and/or through a network, which mayserve as a context for introducing one or more processes and/or devicesdescribed herein.

With reference now to FIG. 34, shown is an example of an operationalflow representing example operations related to identifying acommunications partner, which may serve as a context for introducing oneor more processes and/or devices described herein.

FIG. 35 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 36 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 37 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 38 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 39 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 40 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 41 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 42 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 43 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

FIG. 44 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the example operationalflow of FIG. 34.

With reference now to FIG. 45, shown is a partial view of an examplearticle of manufacture including a computer program product thatincludes a computer program for executing a computer process on acomputing device related to identifying a communications partner, whichmay serve as a context for introducing one or more processes and/ordevices described herein.

With reference now to FIG. 46, shown is an example device in whichembodiments may be implemented related to identifying a communicationspartner, which may serve as a context for introducing one or moreprocesses and/or devices described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 in which embodiments may beimplemented. The system 100 includes a unique identifier unit 102. Theunique identifier unit 102 may contain, for example, device-identifieracceptor module 104 and network-participation identifier acceptor module106. Unique identifier unit 102 may communicate over a network ordirectly with device-identifier custodian 110 to acceptdevice-identifier data 108. Unique identifier unit 102 may alsocommunicate over a network or directly with network-participationidentifier custodian 114 to accept network-participation identifier data112 associated with a verified real-world user 120 associated with theat least one communication device. Optionally, unique identifier unit102 may also accept geodata 116 or financial account data 118. Uniqueidentifier unit 102 may also include identity prediction module 122 forassociating network-participation identifier data with a verifiedreal-world user 120 associated with a communication device.

In FIG. 1, unique identifier unit 102 may assign a unique identifierbased on accepted device-identifier data 108 and acceptednetwork-participation identifier data 112. Optionally, unique identifierunit 102 may assign geodata 116 and/or financial account data 118 to anassigned unique identifier.

In FIG. 1, the unique identifier unit 102 is illustrated as possiblybeing included within a system 100. Of course, virtually any kind ofcomputing device may be used to implement the special purpose uniqueidentifier unit 102, such as, for example, a workstation, a desktopcomputer, a networked computer, a server, a collection of servers and/ordatabases, a virtual machine running inside a computing device, a mobilecomputing device, or a tablet PC.

Additionally, not all of the unique identifier unit 102 need beimplemented on a single computing device. For example, the uniqueidentifier unit 102 may be implemented and/or operable on a remotecomputer, while a user interface and/or local instance of the uniqueidentifier unit 102 are implemented and/or occur on a local computer.Further, aspects of the unique identifier unit 102 may be implemented indifferent combinations and implementations than that shown in FIG. 1.For example, functionality of a user interface may be incorporated intothe unique identifier unit 102. The unique identifier unit 102 mayperform simple data relay functions and/or complex data analysis,including, for example, fuzzy logic and/or traditional logic steps.Further, many methods of assigning unique identifiers described hereinor known in the art may be used, including, for example, algorithms usedin generating globally unique identifiers, universally uniqueidentifiers, and/or other random number generation methods. In someembodiments, the unique identifier unit 102 may assign uniqueidentifiers based on device-identifier data 108 and/ornetwork-participation identifier data 112 available as updates through anetwork.

Unique identifier unit 102 may access data stored in virtually any typeof memory that is able to store and/or provide access to information in,for example, a one-to-many, many-to-one, and/or many-to-manyrelationship. Such a memory may include, for example, a relationaldatabase and/or an object-oriented database, examples of which areprovided in more detail herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates certain alternative embodiments of the system 100 ofFIG. 1. In FIG. 2, The unique identifier unit 102 may also includeunique identifier compiler logic 238 and or encryption protocol logic240. Unique identifier unit 102 may communicate over a network ordirectly with device-identifier custodian 110 to acceptdevice-identifier data 108, perhaps in the form of device identifier 230from communication device 228. Unique identifier unit 102 may alsocommunicate over a network or directly with network-participationidentifier custodian 114 to accept network-participation identifier data112 associated with a verified real-world user 120 associated with theat least one communication device, perhaps from social network 232,business network 234, and/or other network 236.

In this way, the unique identifier unit 102 may generate a compiledand/or encrypted list of unique identifiers that are optionally codedwith or otherwise linked to geodata and/or financial account data.

In some embodiments, unique identifier compiler logic 112 may create acompiled set of composite identifiers that can be used to disambiguatesearch results in the network based on device-identifier data, networkparticipation identifier data, and/or geodata, for example. Uniqueidentifier unit 102 can be operated by a telecom company or by a socialor other network owner, or by both in cooperation with each other. Acompiled list of unique identifiers as discussed herein can representall or substantially all unique user devices in a given social networkor other communications network, e.g., wireless network, email network,or the like.

A directory of uniquely-identified devices can serve as the foundationfor searching within a social network, and for facilitating financialtransactions via the device for members of the social network associatedwith the device.

In some embodiments, unique identifier unit 102 may also includeidentity prediction module 122 for associating network-participationidentifier data with a verified real-world user 120 associated with acommunication device 228. Identity prediction module 122 may includevarious search and/or matching functions for associatingnetwork-participation identifier data 112 with a verified real-worlduser 120 associated with a communications device 228. For example,identity prediction module 122 may include de-anonymization module 244,which in turn may include real-name profiling module 246. Identityprediction module 122 may also include web history tracking module 248,media content tracking module 250, and/or app list tracking module 252.

For the purposes of this application, SIM as used herein includesmini-SIM, micro-SIM, Universal Subscriber Identity Module, CDMASubscriber Identity Module, Universal Integrated Circuit Card, RemovableUser Identity Module, virtual SIM, and other variants of the subscriberidentity module described herein and understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art.

As referenced herein, the unique identifier unit 102 may be used toperform various data querying and/or recall techniques with respect tothe device-identifier data 108 and/or network-participation identifierdata 112, in order to assign a unique identifier. For example, where thenetwork-participation identifier data 112 is organized, keyed to, and/orotherwise accessible using one or more user accounts such as socialnetwork, email, or the like, unique identifier unit 102 may employvarious Boolean, statistical, and/or semi-boolean searching techniquesto assign a unique identifier. Similarly, for example, wheredevice-identifier data 108 is organized, keyed to, and/or otherwiseaccessible using one or more device-identifier custodian 110, variousBoolean, statistical, and/or semi-boolean searching techniques may beperformed by unique identifier unit 102 to assign a unique identifier.

Many examples of databases and database structures may be used inconnection with the unique identifier unit 102. Such examples includehierarchical models (in which data is organized in a tree and/orparent-child node structure), network models (based on set theory, andin which multi-parent structures per child node are supported), orobject/relational models (combining the relational model with theobject-oriented model).

Still other examples include various types of eXtensible Mark-upLanguage (XML) databases. For example, a database may be included thatholds data in some format other than XML, but that is associated with anXML interface for accessing the database using XML. As another example,a database may store XML data directly. Additionally, or alternatively,virtually any semi-structured database may be used, so that context maybe provided to/associated with stored data elements (either encoded withthe data elements, or encoded externally to the data elements), so thatdata storage and/or access may be facilitated.

Such databases, and/or other memory storage techniques, may be writtenand/or implemented using various programming or coding languages. Forexample, object-oriented database management systems may be written inprogramming languages such as, for example, C++ or Java. Relationaland/or object/relational models may make use of database languages, suchas, for example, the structured query language (SQL), which may be used,for example, for interactive queries for disambiguating informationand/or for gathering and/or compiling data from the relationaldatabase(s).

For example, SQL or SQL-like operations over one or moredevice-identifier data 108 and/or network-participation identifier data112 may be performed, or Boolean operations using a device-identifierdata 108 and/or network-participation identifier data 112 may beperformed. For example, weighted Boolean operations may be performed inwhich different weights or priorities are assigned to one or more of thedevice-identifier data 108 and/or network-participation identifier data112, including various network participation aliases associated with aparticular verified real-world user, perhaps relative to one another.For example, a number-weighted, exclusive-OR operation may be performedto request specific weightings of network participation identifiers.

Following are a series of flowcharts depicting implementations. For easeof understanding, the flowcharts are organized such that the initialflowcharts present implementations via an example implementation andthereafter the following flowcharts present alternate implementationsand/or expansions of the initial flowchart(s) as either sub-componentoperations or additional component operations building on one or moreearlier-presented flowcharts. Those having skill in the art willappreciate that the style of presentation utilized herein (e.g.,beginning with a presentation of a flowchart presenting an exampleimplementation and thereafter providing additions to and/or furtherdetails in subsequent flowcharts) generally allows for a rapid and easyunderstanding of the various process implementations. In addition, thoseskilled in the art will further appreciate that the style ofpresentation used herein also lends itself well to modular and/orobject-oriented program design paradigms.

FIG. 3 illustrates an operational flow 300 representing exampleoperations related to linking users of devices. In FIG. 3 and infollowing figures that include various examples of operational flows,discussion and explanation may be provided with respect to theabove-described system environments of FIGS. 1-2, and/or with respect toother examples and contexts. However, it should be understood that theoperational flows may be executed in a number of other environments andcontexts including that of FIG. 15, and/or in modified versions of FIGS.1-2. Also, although the various operational flows are presented in thesequence(s) illustrated, it should be understood that the variousoperations may be performed in other orders than those which areillustrated, or may be performed concurrently.

After a start operation, operation 310 depicts acceptingdevice-identifier data corresponding to at least one communicationdevice. For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/or device-identifieracceptor module 104 can accept device-identifier data 108 from atelecommunications carrier 220, for example in the form of a UniqueDevice Identifier (UDID) for an iPhone or iPod Touch. The UDID is asequence of 40 letters and numbers that is specific to each iPhone oriPod Touch. It may look something like this:2b6f0cc904d137be2e1730235f5664094b831186. Other examples of sources ofdevice-identifier data 108 include voice-over-internet-protocol serviceproviders such as Skype (peer-to-peer VoIP), and wireless carriers suchas Verizon Wireless (CDMA-based wireless communication). Other examplesof device-identifier data 108 include Media Access Control addresses(MAC address) and International Mobile Equipment Identity numbers(IMEI).

Operation 320 depicts accepting network-participation identifier dataassociated with a verified real-world user associated with the at leastone communication device. For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/ornetwork-participation identifier acceptor module 106 may accept fromFacebook a username associated with a verified real-world user having aniPhone and corresponding account with a telecommunications company. Inanother example, unique identifier unit 102 may accept from LinkedIn thename of a person associated with a videoconferencing device andcorresponding account with a videoconferencing service such as WebEx Webconferencing. In another example, unique identifier unit 102 may acceptfrom Google the email address of a person associated with an Androidphone and corresponding account with a wireless carrier.

In some embodiments, network-participation identifier custodian 114 anddevice-identifier custodian 110 will cooperate to provide the necessarynetwork-participation identifier data 112 and device-identifier data 108to unique identifier unit 102. For example, Facebook may provideusernames, images, birthdates, telephone numbers, or other data that ithas about the verified real-world users of its social network to aconsortium of telecommunications carriers 220 (this may optionallyinvolve an opting-in step whereby users of Facebook affirmativelyapprove this action), who may provide device-identifier data 108.Assigning a unique identifier (discussed below) for eachnetwork-user-associated device across each of the carriers in theconsortium may result in a directory that is particularly valuable forthe telecommunications carriers, who can then provide directorysearching, support, and disambiguation for a potentially large fractionof the Facebook social network. Such a directory will likely be of equalinterest and value to networks including Facebook in this example, forthe same reasons. For example, a cross-carrier directory of Facebookmembers with associated phone numbers would be an added feature forFacebook that could significantly enhance the social informationprovided by the network.

Operation 330 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data. For example, unique identifier unit 102, upon acceptingdevice-identifier data 108 and network-participation identifier data 112associated with a verified real-world user 120 associated with the atleast one communication device, may assign a randomly-generated 32-bitunique identifier. In the iPhone example above, unique identifier unit102 may accept the iPhone's unique device identifier (UDID) as thedevice-identifier data 108, accept an iTunes username associated with auser with a valid credit card and security code as thenetwork-participation identifier data 112 associated with a verifiedreal-world user 120 associated with the at least one communicationdevice, and assign a unique identifier to the device and username pair.

As another example, unique identifier unit 102 may accept the MACaddress of a networked computer as the device-identifier data 108,accept an Outlook email address associated with a user with a verifiedbiometric measurement as the network-participation identifier data 112associated with a verified real-world user 120 associated with the atleast one communication device, and assign a unique identifier to thecomputer and email address pair.

As another example, unique identifier unit 102 may accept a mobilephone's integrated circuit card ID (ICC-ID) as the device-identifierdata 108, accept a Facebook username associated with a user with a validFacebook Credits account as the network-participation identifier data112 associated with a verified real-world user 120 associated with theat least one communication device, and assign a unique identifier to themobile phone and Facebook username pair.

In some embodiments, unique identifier unit 102 may include an identityprediction algorithm such as a de-anonymization algorithm, a real-nameprofiling algorithm, a web history tracking algorithm, media contenttracking algorithm, and/or an app list tracking algorithm. Thesealgorithms may aid in the association of network-participationidentifier data with a verified real-world user 120 associated with thecommunication device 228, where those associations are not provideddirectly by a device-identifier custodian 110 and/or anetwork-participation identifier custodian 114.

FIG. 4 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIG. 3. FIG. 4 illustrates example embodiments where theaccepting operation 310 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 400, 402, 404, and/oroperation 406.

Operation 400 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one of a mobile phone, a wired telephone, avoice-over-internet-protocol telephone, a tablet computer, a notebookcomputer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or a networkedtelevision. For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/ordevice-identifier acceptor module 104 may accept device-identifier datacorresponding to at least one of a mobile phone, a wired telephone, avoice-over-internet-protocol telephone, a tablet computer, a notebookcomputer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or a networkedtelevision. For example, device-identifier acceptor module 104 mayaccept a mobile phone's mobile equipment identifier, a land line'stelephone number, or a networked computer's media access control address(MAC address) or internet protocol address (IP address).

Device-identifier data 108 may be accepted in different forms dependingon the device identified. For example, an IP address or MAC address maybe used to identify a computer.

Every device connected to the public internet is assigned a uniquenumber known as an internet protocol address (IP address). IP addressesconsist of four numbers separated by periods (also called a“dotted-quad”) and look something like 127.0.0.1. Since these numbersare usually assigned to internet service providers within region-basedblocks, an IP address can often be used to identify the region orcountry from which a computer is connecting to the Internet. An IPaddress can sometimes be used to show the user's general location. An IPaddress may also be assigned to a Host name, which may be easier toremember. Hostnames may be looked up to find IP addresses, andvice-versa. At one time internet service providers issued one IP addressto each user. These are static IP addresses. With the increased numberof issued IP addresses, internet service providers now issue IPaddresses in a dynamic fashion out of a pool of IP addresses usingdynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP), which provides a centraldatabase for keeping track of computers that have been connected to thenetwork. This prevents two computers from accidentally being configuredwith the same IP address. These are referred to as dynamic IP addresses.In addition to users connecting to the internet, with virtual hosting, asingle machine can act like multiple machines, with multiple domainnames and IP addresses.

MAC addresses are unique identifiers assigned to network interfaces forcommunications on the physical network segment. They are most oftenassigned by the manufacturer of a network interface card (NIC) and arestored in its hardware, the card's read-only memory, or some otherfirmware mechanism. If assigned by the manufacturer, a MAC addressusually encodes the manufacturer's registered identification number andmay be referred to as the burned-in address. It may also be known as anEthernet hardware address (EHA), hardware address, or physical address.A network node may have multiple NICs and will then have one unique MACaddress per NIC.

A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module (SIM)is an integrated circuit that securely stores the service-subscriber keyor international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) used to identify asubscriber on mobile telephony devices (such as mobile phones andcomputers). A SIM card typically contains its unique serial number(integrated circuit card identifier or ICCID), an internationally uniquenumber of the mobile user (IMSI), security authentication and cipheringinformation, temporary information related to the local network, a listof the services the user has access to and two passwords: a personalidentification number (PIN) for usual use and a PIN unlock code (PUC)for unlocking. A SIM card may also store other carrier-specific datasuch as the SMSC (Short Message Service Center) number, Service ProviderName (SPN), Service Dialing Numbers (SDN), Advice-Of-Charge parametersand Value Added Service (VAS) applications.

A SIM card's ICCID is stored in the SIM card and also engraved orprinted on the SIM card body. The ICCID is typically composed of anissuer identification number (IIN), an individual account identificationnumber, and a check digit.

SIM cards are identified on their individual operator networks by aunique international mobile subscriber identity number or IMSI. Mobileoperators connect mobile phone calls and communicate with their marketSIM cards using their IMSIs. The format is: the first 3 digits representthe Mobile Country Code (MCC), the next 2 or 3 digits represent theMobile Network Code (MNC), and the next digits represent the mobilestation identification number.

SIM cards may also orthogonally store a number of SMS messages and phonebook contacts. A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which can betransferred between different mobile devices.

Operation 402 depicts accepting telephony device-identifier dataincluding a telephone number associated with the telephony device. Forexample, unique identifier unit 102 may accept a ten-digit telephonenumber or a seven-digit telephone number from a telecommunicationscarrier 220 as the device-identifier data 108. The number contains theinformation necessary to identify uniquely the intended endpoint for thetelephone call. Each such endpoint must have a unique number within thepublic switched telephone network.

Operation 404 depicts accepting at least one of subscriber identitymodule data or integrated circuit card identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device. For example, unique identifier unit102 may accept an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) from amobile phone's SIM card from a telecommunications carrier 220 as thedevice-identifier data 108. As another example, device-identifieracceptor module 104 may accept from a wireless communications service222 an integrated circuit card identifier number from a SIM card for amobile phone.

Operation 406 depicts accepting mobile equipment identifier datacorresponding to at least one communication device. For example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 may accept a mobile equipment identifiercorresponding to a mobile handset from a telecommunications carrier 220or wireless communications service 222. A Mobile Equipment IDentifier(MEID) is a globally unique 56-bit identification number for a physicalpiece of mobile equipment. Equipment identifiers are “burned” into adevice and are used as a means to facilitate mobile equipmentidentification and tracking. Additionally, MEIDs are coordinated withInternational Mobile Equipment Identifiers (IMEIs), facilitating globalroaming and harmonization between 3G technologies as a universal mobileequipment identifier. The MEID is a 14-digit hexadecimal value. The MEIDis capable of being transmitted over the air upon a request from thenetwork. The MEID is composed mainly of two basic components, themanufacturer code and the serial number.

FIG. 5 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 illustrates example embodiments where theaccepting operation 310 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 500, 502, and/or operation504.

Operation 500 depicts accepting international mobile subscriber identitydata corresponding to at least one communication device. For example,device-identifier acceptor module 104 may accept an international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI) from a mobile phone's SIM card from awireless communications service 222 as the device-identifier data 108.An International Mobile Subscriber Identity or IMSI is a uniqueidentification associated with all GSM and UMTS network mobile phoneusers. It is stored as a 64-bit field in the SIM inside the phone and issent by the phone to the network. It is also used for acquiring otherdetails of the mobile device in the Home Location Register (HLR) or aslocally copied in the Visitor Location Register. To preventeavesdroppers identifying and tracking the subscriber on the radiointerface, the IMSI is sent as rarely as possible and arandomly-generated temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) is sentinstead. The IMSI is used in any mobile network that interconnects withother networks. This number is kept in the phone directly or in theremovable user identity module (R-UIM) card, a card developed for CDMAhandsets that extends the GSM SIM card to CDMA phones and networks.

Operation 502 depicts accepting electronic serial number datacorresponding to at least one communication device. For example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 may accept an electronic serial number from a mobilephone's SIM card from a telecommunications carrier 220 as thedevice-identifier data 108. As another example, device-identifieracceptor module 104 may accept from a wireless communications service222 an electronic serial number from a SIM card for a CDMA-based mobilephone.

Operation 504 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount. For example, unique identifier unit 102 may accept a mobileequipment identifier from a mobile phone's SIM card from atelecommunications carrier 220, the MEID corresponding to a billingaccount for a subscriber of a wireless service provided by thetelecommunications carrier 220. As another example, device-identifieracceptor module 104 may accept from a wireless communications service222 an IMSI from a SIM card for a mobile phone, the IMSI correspondingto a billing account for a subscriber of the wireless communicationsservice 222.

FIG. 6 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG. 6 illustrates example embodiments wherethe accepting operation 504 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 600, 602, and/oroperation 604.

Operation 600 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises a cabletelecommunications billing account. For example, unique identifier unit102 may accept a computer user's MAC address or IP address as the deviceidentifier data 108. In this example, the MAC address or IP address ofthe computer may be linked to a Skype account for billing purposes.

Operation 602 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises a wirelesstelecommunications billing account. For example, unique identifier unit102 may accept from a wireless service provider an IMEI for a mobilephone linked to a billing account for an individual subscriber.

Operation 604 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one wireless telecommunications billingaccount comprises a satellite telecommunications billing account. Forexample, unique identifier unit 102 may accept from a satellite-basedwireless service provider such as LightSquared, a device-identifier fora mobile phone linked to a billing account for an individual subscriber.

FIG. 7 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG. 7 illustrates example embodiments wherethe accepting operation 504 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 700, 702, 704,and/or operation 706.

Operation 700 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises a physicaladdress. For example, device-identifier acceptor module 104 may acceptfrom a wireless communications service 222 an IMSI from a SIM card for amobile phone, the IMSI corresponding to a billing account for asubscriber of the wireless communications service 222 at a specificstreet, city, and country address.

Operation 702 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises a bankaccount. For example, device-identifier acceptor module 104 may acceptfrom a wireless communications service 222 an iPhone or iPod Touchdevice identifier, the identifier corresponding to a bank account numberfor a subscriber of the wireless service to the iPhone or iPod Touchdevice.

Operation 704 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises anelectronic payment account. To continue the previous example involvingthe iPhone or iPod Touch device, the wireless service subscription maybe linked to a bank's electronic payment service, wire transfer service,or the like.

Operation 706 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least oneelectronic payment account, wherein the electronic payment accountcomprises at least one of a Google Checkout account, an Amazon Paymentsaccount, a PayPal account, or a mobile PayPal account. For example, aunique identifier unit 102 may accept a mobile device ID for an Androidmobile phone from an Android app such as “Android Device ID” availablefor download from the Android Market. The Android mobile device ID,perhaps derived from a wireless network socket, for the mobile phone maycorrespond to a Google Checkout account for the subscriber of thewireless service to the mobile phone.

FIG. 8 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIGS. 3 and 5. FIG. 8 illustrates example embodiments wherethe accepting operation 504 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 800, 802, and/oroperation 804.

Operation 800 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises a creditcard account. For example, a wireless device's service subscription maybe linked to a user's credit card account.

Operation 802 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises a virtualaccount. For example, to continue the Google Checkout example above, aunique identifier unit 102 may accept a mobile device ID for an Androidmobile phone from an Android app such as “Android Device ID” availablefor download from the Android Market. The Android mobile device ID forthe mobile phone may correspond to a virtual account such as a Facebookcredit account.

Operation 804 depicts accepting device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one virtualaccount, wherein the virtual account comprises at least one of a virtualwallet or a virtual prepaid credit card. For example, to continue theGoogle Checkout example above, a unique identifier unit 102 may accept amobile device ID for an Android mobile phone from an Android app such as“Android Device ID” available for download from the Android Market. TheAndroid mobile device ID for the mobile phone may correspond to avirtual wallet account such as Google wallet.

FIG. 9 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIG. 3. FIG. 9 illustrates example embodiments where theaccepting operation 320 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 900, 902, 904, and/oroperation 906.

Operation 900 depicts accepting network-participation identifier dataassociated with at least one of a user's social security number, auser's national identification card, a user's biometric measurement, auser's passport number, a user's tax identification number, a user'sinternet domain, or a user's authentication certificate. For example,unique identifier unit 102 and/or network-participation identifieracceptor module 106 may accept network-participation identifier dataassociated with at least one of a user's social security number, auser's national identification card, a user's biometric measurement, auser's passport number, a user's tax identification number, a user'sinternet domain, or a user's authentication certificate. For example,network-participation identifier acceptor module 106 may accept aFacebook username as network-participation identifier data, the usernameassociated with a photograph of the user as a biometric measurementverifying that a real-world user is associated with the username. Insome embodiments, an image recognition system may be employed toassociate an image with a specific user. In some embodiments, thereal-world user may be a corporation.

In another example, network-participation identifier acceptor module 106may accept an email address as network-participation identifier data,the email address associated with a social security number on file witha telecommunications company with which the user has a servicesubscription.

As used herein, “network-participation identifier data” may refer to asignifier of belonging in a network, such as an email address; ausername, such as a social networking user name; or other mark such asan image, number, or writing that signifies participation in aparticular network.

Operation 902 depicts accepting social networking data corresponding toat least one verified real-world user of the at least one communicationdevice. For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/ornetwork-participation identifier acceptor module 106 may accept aGoogle+ username as a network-participation identifier datum, whereinthe Google+ username is associated with a photograph of the user havingthe username. In some embodiments, the photograph of the user may beanalyzed by image recognition technologies to identify a person havingspecific geographic, demographic, or other identifying characteristics.

Operation 904 depicts accepting social networking data corresponding toat least one verified real-world user of the at least one communicationdevice, wherein the social networking data comprises at least one of ausername, an @-tagged twitter handle, a corporate login, or a websiteuniform resource locator (URL). For example, unique identifier unit 102and/or network-participation identifier acceptor module 106 may accept ablogger's website URL as a network-participation identifier datum,wherein the website URL is associated with a photograph and/ordescription of the blogger on the website at the website URL.

Operation 906 depicts accepting social networking data corresponding toat least one verified real-world user of the at least one communicationdevice, wherein the social networking data comprises at least one ofFacebook data, Twitter data, or LinkedIn data. For example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 and/or network-participation identifier acceptormodule 106 may accept a LinkedIn username as a network-participationidentifier datum, wherein the username is associated with a publicprofile of a user of the business-related social networking siteLinkedIn.

FIG. 10 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIGS. 3 and 9. FIG. 10 illustrates example embodiments wherethe accepting operation 902 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 1000, 1002,and/or operation 1004.

Operation 1000 depicts accepting social networking data corresponding toat least one verified real-world user of the at least one communicationdevice, wherein the social networking data comprises at least one ofimage data, constellation of social contact data, or user input data.For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/or network-participationidentifier acceptor module 106 may accept a list of social contacts froma social network such as Facebook or LinkedIn as thenetwork-participation identifier data. In another example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 and/or network-participation identifier acceptormodule 106 may accept a list of email contacts grouped as friends orfamily from an email contact list as the network-participationidentifier data.

Operation 1002 depicts accepting social networking data corresponding toat least one verified real-world user of the at least one communicationdevice, wherein the social networking data comprises data accumulatedfrom multiple sources. For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/ornetwork-participation identifier acceptor module 106 may accept aplurality of usernames sourced from various social networks, eachcorresponding to the same verified real-world user of the at least onecommunication device as the data accumulated from multiple sources. Asanother example, unique identifier unit 102 and/or network-participationidentifier acceptor module 106 may accept a set of photographs of thesame verified real-world user of the at least one communication device,sourced from various social networks as the data accumulated frommultiple sources.

Operation 1004 depicts accepting social networking data corresponding toat least one verified real-world user of the at least one communicationdevice, wherein the social networking data comprises at least one ofdata used to create additional data or data used to find additionaldata. For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/ornetwork-participation identifier acceptor module 106 may accept awebsite URL of a social networking site's videoconferencing or videochatfeed as data (website URL) used to create additional data (streamingvideo of network participants). In another example, unique identifierunit 102 and/or network-participation identifier acceptor module 106 mayaccept a user image or alias that can be used to find other data, forexample as a search term in an reverse-image query or a text query,respectively.

FIG. 11 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIG. 3. FIG. 11 illustrates example embodiments where theassigning operation 330 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 1100, 1102, and/or operation1104.

Operation 1100 depicts assigning at least one of a multi-digit decimalnumber, a multi-digit hexadecimal number, or a randomized code as theunique identifier. For example, unique identifier unit 102 may assign atleast one of a multi-digit decimal number, a multi-digit hexadecimalnumber, or a randomized code as the unique identifier. In anotherexample, unique identifier unit 102 may assign a unique identifier usingan algorithm(s) known in the art to generate unique multi-digit decimalnumbers or unique multi-digit hexadecimal numbers. See, e.g., U.S. Pat.No. 8,010,587 (hereby incorporated by reference).

Operation 1102 depicts further comprising encrypting the uniqueidentifier. For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/or encryptionprotocol logic 240 may encrypt the assigned unique identifier.Encrypting the unique identifier may be desirable in cases wheretelecommunications carriers sharing a directory comprised of uniqueidentifiers for the purpose of locating and disambiguating users of oneor more networks, can share the unique identifiers but still protectthem and the underlying data from access by undesirable entities such asspammers and telemarketers. In another example, unique identifier unit102 may encrypt the assigned identifier or associated sensitive personaland/or financial information according to encryption schemes describedherein and known in the art. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 8,010,791 and U.S.Pat. No. 8,010,786 (hereby incorporated by reference).

Operation 1104 depicts further comprising encrypting the uniqueidentifier, wherein the encrypting the unique identifier includesperforming at least one of symmetric key encryption, public keyencryption, hybrid digital signature encryption, using a one-way hashfunction, using a random identifier, or using a pseudo-randomidentifier. For example, unique identifier unit 102 and/or encryptionprotocol logic 240 may encrypt the assigned unique identifier using aone-way hash function, which is easy to compute on every input, but hardto invert given the image of a random input.

FIG. 12 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIG. 3. FIG. 12 illustrates example embodiments where theassigning operation 330 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 1200, 1202, 1204, and/oroperation 1206.

Operation 1200 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, further comprising assigning to the unique identifiergeo-locator data from the at least one communication device. Forexample, unique identifier unit 102 may accept geodata 116 from a mobilephone, and then assign that geodata to an assigned unique identifiercorresponding to a device and a network participant. In another example,unique identifier unit 102 may accept geodata 116 in the form of acomputer's IP address, and then assign that geodata to an assignedunique identifier corresponding to the computer and a verified networkparticipant associated with that computer.

Operation 1202 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, further comprising assigning to the unique identifiergeo-locator data from the at least one communication device, wherein thegeo-locator data is assigned via a global positioning satellite functionof the communication device. For example, unique identifier unit 102 mayaccept geodata 116 from a mobile phone having a gps receiver, and thenassign that geodata to an assigned unique identifier corresponding to adevice and a network participant.

Operation 1204 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, further comprising assigning to the unique identifiergeo-locator data from the at least one communication device, wherein thegeo-locator data is derived from at least one of cellular phone towerproximity, Wi-Fi use, user-entered location data, or proximity to atleast one other device. For example, unique identifier unit 102 mayaccept geodata 116 from a smart phone using a Wi-Fi network contained ina database that contains location information for the Wi-Fi network, andthen assign that geodata to an assigned unique identifier correspondingto a device and a network participant.

Operation 1206 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, further comprising assigning to the unique identifiergeo-locator data from the at least one communication device, wherein thegeo-locator data is derived from at least one of a detected vehicle use,a detected user activity, or a detected user location. For example,unique identifier unit 102 may derive geo-locator data from detectedautomobile use, based on, for example, last known location and predictedrange of travel of the automobile. In another example, unique identifierunit 102 may receive or deduce geo-locator data from a detected useractivity, for example, checking in with foursquare at a specificlocation or searching for driving directions in a web browser,respectively.

FIG. 13 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIG. 3. FIG. 13 illustrates example embodiments where theassigning operation 330 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 1300, 1302, 1304, and/oroperation 1306.

Operation 1300 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, wherein the unique identifier represents multiplecommunication devices associated with a single user. For example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 may assign a unique identifier at least partly basedon the device-identifier data and the network-participation identifierdata, wherein the unique identifier represents multiple communicationdevices associated with a single user. In another example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 may accept device-identifier data from a mobilephone, a desktop computer, and a laptop computer, each of which isassociated with a single user, for example by virtue of an IMSI or otherSIM data, email data, billing account data, or social networking data.

Operation 1302 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, wherein the unique identifier represents a singlecommunication device associated with multiple users. For example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 may assign a unique identifier at least partly basedon the device-identifier data and the network-participation identifierdata, wherein the unique identifier represents a single communicationdevice associated with multiple users. In another example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 may accept device-identifier data from a mobilephone, the device-identifier data associated with a multiple users, forexample members of a family by virtue of different login data used foraccess to the device and/or different social networking usernames usedon the device.

Operation 1304 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, wherein the unique identifier represents a singlecommunication device associated with a single user. For example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 may assign a unique identifier at least partly basedon the device-identifier data and the network-participation identifierdata, wherein the unique identifier represents a single communicationdevice associated with a single user. As another example, uniqueidentifier unit 102 may assign a unique identifier at least partly basedon a videoconferencing device ID, such as an IP address or a MACaddress, and at least partly based on a username and password for thevideoconference, accompanied by a video image of a user associated withthe username and password, verifying that a real-world user isassociated with the videoconferencing device.

Operation 1306 depicts assigning a unique identifier at least partlybased on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, and then adding an assigned unique identifier to aninter-service-provider directory of unique identifiers. For example,unique identifier unit 102 may assign a unique identifier at leastpartly based on the device-identifier data and the network-participationidentifier data, and then adding an assigned unique identifier to aninter-service-provider directory of unique identifiers. In anotherexample, unique identifier unit 102 may assign a unique identifier atleast partly based on SIM data identifying a user's mobile phone, and atleast partly based on the subscriber's participation in the wirelessnetwork, as verified, for example, by a social security number for theuser on file with the wireless carrier for the mobile device, forexample, Verizon. Verizon may similarly create unique identifiers forall of the other verified real-world users of its network and theirassociated devices. Other wireless carriers may similarly create uniqueidentifiers for their subscribers and associated devices.

If many wireless carriers agree to share their unique identifier listsand keep them in the same format for use as a global directory of mobilephone users, a comprehensive “white pages” of communications deviceusers becomes possible, across potentially all service providers. Such adirectory could also be keyed to social networking data such as usernameor user image, such that, for example, Facebook users could easily findeach other's device contact information and possibly locationinformation. Inclusion of users' device information in such a directorycould be done on an opt-in basis.

As used herein, a unique identifier based on a device-identifier and anetwork-participant identifier may be keyed to that underlying data.That is, having the unique identifier corresponding to specific devicedata and specific network-participation identifier data associated witha verified real-world user associated with the at least onecommunication device will permit the creator of the unique identifier touse it to call up the specific device data and specific networkparticipation identifier data. This may allow, for example, atelecommunications carrier to disambiguate one user from another havingsimilar or identical network participation identifier data. This can bedone on the basis of different device identifier data for the two userswith similar or identical network participation identifier data, forexample.

FIG. 14 illustrates a partial view of an example article of manufacture1400 that includes a computer program 1404 for executing a computerprocess on a computing device. An embodiment of the example article ofmanufacture 1400 is provided including a signal bearing medium 1402, andmay include one or more instructions for accepting device-identifierdata corresponding to at least one communication device; one or moreinstructions for accepting network-participation identifier dataassociated with a verified real-world user associated with the at leastone communication device; and one or more instructions for assigning aunique identifier at least partly based on the device-identifier dataand the network-participation identifier data. The one or moreinstructions may be, for example, computer executable and/orlogic-implemented instructions. In one implementation, thesignal-bearing medium 1402 may include a computer-readable medium 1406.In one implementation, the signal bearing medium 1402 may include arecordable medium 1408. In one implementation, the signal bearing medium1402 may include a communications medium 1410.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example system 1500 in which embodiments may beimplemented. The system 1500 includes a computing system environment.The system 1500 also illustrates a user 1512 using a device 1504, whichis optionally shown as being in communication with a computing device1502 by way of an optional coupling 1506. The optional coupling 1506 mayrepresent a local, wide-area, or peer-to-peer network, or may representa bus that is internal to a computing device (e.g., in exampleembodiments in which the computing device 1502 is contained in whole orin part within the device 1504). A storage medium 1508 may be anycomputer storage media. In one embodiment, the computing device 1502 mayinclude a virtual machine operating within another computing device. Inan alternative embodiment, the computing device 1502 may include avirtual machine operating within a program running on a remote server.

The computing device 1502 includes computer-executable instructions 1510that when executed on the computing device 1502 cause the computingdevice 1502 to (a) accept device-identifier data corresponding to atleast one communication device; (b) accept network-participationidentifier data associated with a verified real-world user associatedwith the at least one communication device; and (c) assign a uniqueidentifier at least partly based on the device-identifier data and thenetwork-participation identifier data. As referenced above and as shownin FIG. 15, in some examples, the computing device 1502 may optionallybe contained in whole or in part within the device 1504.

In FIG. 15, then, the system 1500 includes at least one computing device(e.g., 1502 and/or 1504). The computer-executable instructions 1510 maybe executed on one or more of the at least one computing device. Forexample, the computing device 1502 may implement the computer-executableinstructions 1510 and output a result to (and/or receive data from) thecomputing device 1504. Since the computing device 1502 may be wholly orpartially contained within the computing device 1504, the device 1504also may be said to execute some or all of the computer-executableinstructions 1510, in order to be caused to perform or implement, forexample, various ones of the techniques described herein, or othertechniques.

The device 1504 may include, for example, a portable computing device,workstation, or desktop computing device. In another example embodiment,the computing device 1502 is operable to communicate with the device1504 associated with the user 1512 to receive information about theinput from the user 1512 for performing data access and data processing,and assign a unique identifier at least partly based on thedevice-identifier data and the network-participation identifier data.

FIG. 16 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 300 of FIG. 3. FIG. 16 illustrates example embodiments where theaccepting operation 320 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 1600, 1602, and/or operation1604.

Operation 1600 depicts accepting network-participation identifier dataassociated with a verified real-world user associated with the at leastone communication device, further comprising associatingnetwork-participation identifier data with a real-world user associatedwith the at least one communication device. To continue an example ofoperation 302 above in which unique identifier unit 102 and/ornetwork-participation identifier acceptor module 106 may accept fromFacebook a username associated with a verified real-world user having aniPhone and corresponding account with a telecommunications company, theunique identifier unit 102 and/or identity prediction module 122 maysearch one or more identity databases for associations between theusername and a real-world user, and for associations between thatreal-world user and the iPhone. Sources of data for associating a userwith network-participation data and/or a communication device mayinclude, for example, information that is provided by the user. Forexample, social network, message boards, interne forums, and the likemay contain a link between a username and a phone number, a real-worldname, birth date, gender, age, or other identifying attribute. Privatesources of data may also include information provided by the user, suchas private social networks, ecommerce websites, or any websites to whicha consumer provides sign-up information. Publicly available sources maycontain unique consumer information, including for example, vehicleregistration records, real estate records, driving records, votingrecords, political donations, health information, government relateddata, technographics, or any other on-line sources disclosinginformation about people. Examples of algorithms that may be employed toperform these associations can be found in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication 2010/0088313 “Data Source Attribution System,” herebyincorporated in its entirety by reference. See also U.S. PatentApplication Publication 2010/0010993 “Distributed Personal InformationAggregator,” also hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.

In the example above, the Facebook username may be used as a searchquery by identity prediction module 122 to find the same username on ablog containing a real-world name and mobile phone number associatedwith the username, the mobile phone number being assigned to the iPhoneassociated with the now-verified real-world user associated with theFacebook username.

Operation 1602 depicts associating network-participation identifier datawith a real-world user associated with the at least one communicationdevice, including at least one of performing the association usingidentity prediction, performing the association using de-anonymization,or performing the association using real-name profiling. For example,unique identifier unit 102, identity prediction module 122,de-anonymization module 244, and/or real-name profiling module 246 mayassociate network-participation identifier data with a real-world userassociated with the at least one communication device, including atleast one of performing the association using identity prediction,performing the association using de-anonymization, or performing theassociation using real-name profiling. For example, accept from LinkedInthe name of a person associated with a videoconferencing device andcorresponding account with a videoconferencing service such as WebEx Webconferencing. If the association between the LinkedIn subscriber and areal-world user associated with the videoconferencing device is missing,identity prediction module 122 may search relevant identity databasesfor matches to the subscriber's username or other profile data. In thisway, verification of the real-world user can be accomplished, andassociation between the network-participation identifier data and theuser associated with the communications device can be performed.

Operation 1604 depicts associating network-participation identifier datawith a real-world user associated with the at least one communicationdevice, including at least one of performing the association using webhistory tracking, performing the association using media contenttracking, or performing the association using app data tracking. Forexample, unique identifier unit 102, Web history tracking module 248,media content tracking module 250, and/or app data tracking module 252may associate network-participation identifier data with a real-worlduser associated with the at least one communication device, including atleast one of performing the association using web history tracking,performing the association using media content tracking, or performingthe association using app data tracking. For example, unique identifierunit 102 may accept from Google the email address of a person associatedwith an Android phone and corresponding account with a wireless carrier.In this example, app data tracking module 252 may match the emailaddress with device ID from the phone, e.g., SIM data, and make theassociation between the email address and the phone. Additionally, webhistory tracking module 248 may search public databases for verificationthat a real-world user is associated with the email address, for exampleby searching department of motor vehicle records or real estate records.

Disambiguating Search Terms Corresponding to Network Members

FIG. 17 illustrates an example system 1700 in which embodiments may beimplemented. The system 1700 includes a disambiguation unit 1704. Thedisambiguation unit 1704 may contain, for example, primary query dataacceptor module 1718, ancillary query data acceptor module 1710, and/oridentity prediction module 122. disambiguation unit 1704 may communicateover a network or directly with user 1701 to accept primary query data1702 and ancillary query data 1703. Disambiguation unit 1704 may alsocommunicate over a network or directly with user 1701 to presentdisambiguated search term(s) 1730. Disambiguation unit 1704 may alsoinclude filter logic 1718, ranking logic 1720, correction logic 1722,subscriber database 1724, cross-carrier subscriber database 1726, and/orother database 1728.

In FIG. 17, disambiguation unit 1704 may associate at least one searchterm from user 1701 with ancillary query data 1703 such asnetwork-participation identifier data or device-identifier data.Optionally, disambiguation unit 1704 may accept ancillary query data1703 such as search locus data. Primary query data acceptor module 1718may include name query acceptor module 1706 and/or number query acceptormodule. Ancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may includedevice-identifier data acceptor module 1712, network-participationidentifier data acceptor module 1714, and/or search locus data acceptormodule 1716. Identity prediction module 122 may include de-anonymizationmodule 244, real-name profiling module 246, web history tracking module248, media content tracking module 250, and/or app data tracking module252.

In FIG. 17, the disambiguation unit 1704 is illustrated as possiblybeing included within a system 1700. Of course, virtually any kind ofcomputing device may be used to implement the special purposedisambiguation unit 1704, such as, for example, a workstation, a desktopcomputer, a networked computer, a server, a collection of servers and/ordatabases, a virtual machine running inside a computing device, a mobilecomputing device, or a tablet PC.

Additionally, not all of the disambiguation unit 1704 need beimplemented on a single computing device. For example, thedisambiguation unit 1704 may be implemented and/or operable on a remotecomputer, while a user interface and/or local instance of thedisambiguation unit 1704 are implemented and/or occur on a localcomputer. Further, aspects of the disambiguation unit 1704 may beimplemented in different combinations and implementations than thatshown in FIG. 17. For example, functionality of a user interface may beincorporated into the disambiguation unit 1704. The disambiguation unit1704 may perform simple data relay functions and/or complex dataanalysis, including, for example, fuzzy logic and/or traditional logicsteps. Further, many methods of disambiguating search termscorresponding to network members described herein or known in the artmay be used, including, for example, algorithms commonly used indisambiguating words based on syntax, context, and semantics. In someembodiments, the disambiguation unit 1704 may disambiguate a search termby associating the search term with network-participation identifierdata and/or device-identifier data available as updates through anetwork.

Disambiguation unit 1704 may access data stored in virtually any type ofmemory that is able to store and/or provide access to information in,for example, a one-to-many, many-to-one, and/or many-to-manyrelationship. Such a memory may include, for example, a relationaldatabase and/or an object-oriented database, examples of which areprovided in more detail herein.

As referenced herein, the disambiguation unit 1704 may be used toperform various data querying and/or recall techniques with respect tothe primary query data 1702 and the ancillary query data 1703 (e.g.,device-identifier data 108, searcher location data, and/ornetwork-participation identifier data 112), in order to present adisambiguated search term(s) 1730. For example, wherenetwork-participation identifier data 112 is organized, keyed to, and/orotherwise accessible using one or more user accounts such as socialnetwork, email, or the like, disambiguation unit 1704 may employ variousBoolean, statistical, and/or semi-Boolean searching techniques toassociate a search term with network-participation identifier dataand/or device-identifier data for disambiguation. Similarly, forexample, where network member data is organized, keyed to, and/orotherwise accessible using one or more inter-carrier directory orcross-carrier subscriber database 1726, various Boolean, statistical,and/or semi-boolean searching techniques may be performed bydisambiguation unit 1704 to disambiguate a search term(s).

Many examples of databases and database structures may be used inconnection with the disambiguation unit 1704. Such examples includehierarchical models (in which data is organized in a tree and/orparent-child node structure), network models (based on set theory, andin which multi-parent structures per child node are supported), orobject/relational models (combining the relational model with theobject-oriented model).

Still other examples include various types of eXtensible Mark-upLanguage (XML) databases. For example, a database may be included thatholds data in some format other than XML, but that is associated with anXML interface for accessing the database using XML. As another example,a database may store XML data directly. Additionally, or alternatively,virtually any semi-structured database may be used, so that context maybe provided to/associated with stored data elements (either encoded withthe data elements, or encoded externally to the data elements), so thatdata storage and/or access may be facilitated.

Such databases, and/or other memory storage techniques, may be writtenand/or implemented using various programming or coding languages. Forexample, object-oriented database management systems may be written inprogramming languages such as, for example, C++ or Java. Relationaland/or object/relational models may make use of database languages, suchas, for example, the structured query language (SQL), which may be used,for example, for interactive queries for disambiguating informationand/or for gathering and/or compiling data from the relationaldatabase(s).

For example, SQL or SQL-like operations over one or more primary querydata 1702 and/or ancillary query data 1703 may be performed, or Booleanoperations using primary query data 1702 and/or ancillary query data1703 may be performed. For example, weighted Boolean operations may beperformed in which different weights or priorities are assigned to oneor more of the primary query data 1702 and/or ancillary query data 1703,including various device identifiers, locations, and/or networkparticipation aliases associated with a particular network member,perhaps relative to one another. For example, a number-weighted,exclusive-OR operation may be performed to request specific weightingsof device and/or network participation identifiers.

Following are a series of flowcharts depicting implementations. For easeof understanding, the flowcharts are organized such that the initialflowcharts present implementations via an example implementation andthereafter the following flowcharts present alternate implementationsand/or expansions of the initial flowchart(s) as either sub-componentoperations or additional component operations building on one or moreearlier-presented flowcharts. Those having skill in the art willappreciate that the style of presentation utilized herein (e.g.,beginning with a presentation of a flowchart presenting an exampleimplementation and thereafter providing additions to and/or furtherdetails in subsequent flowcharts) generally allows for a rapid and easyunderstanding of the various process implementations. In addition, thoseskilled in the art will further appreciate that the style ofpresentation used herein also lends itself well to modular and/orobject-oriented program design paradigms.

FIG. 18 illustrates an operational flow 1800 representing exampleoperations related to disambiguating search terms corresponding tonetwork members. In FIG. 18 and in following figures that includevarious examples of operational flows, discussion and explanation may beprovided with respect to the above-described system environments of FIG.17, and/or with respect to other examples and contexts. However, itshould be understood that the operational flows may be executed in anumber of other environments and contexts including that of FIG. 31,and/or in modified versions of FIG. 17. Also, although the variousoperational flows are presented in the sequence(s) illustrated, itshould be understood that the various operations may be performed inother orders than those which are illustrated, or may be performedconcurrently.

After a start operation, operation 1810 depicts accepting at least onesearch term corresponding to at least one member of a network. Forexample, disambiguation unit 1704, name query acceptor module 1706,and/or number query acceptor module 1708 can accept primary query data1702 from a user 1701, for example in the form of a proper name searchterm like “John Smith” or a username search term such as “jsmith23.” Inanother example, disambiguation unit 1704 or number query acceptormodule 1708 may accept a street address search term from a user 1701,for example 123 Any Street, Peoria Ill.

Operation 1820 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with at least one ofnetwork-participation identifier data or device-identifier data. Forexample, disambiguation unit 1704, network-participation identifier dataacceptor module 1714 and/or device-identifier data acceptor module 1712may access ancillary query data 1703 from a social networking websitesuch as Facebook, associate a search term, e.g., “John Smith” tocontinue the example from above, with information known or knowableabout the searcher and/or the device that the searcher is using toconduct the query. One way of making an association between a searchterm and network participation data or device identification data mayinvolve finding links between the search term and elements of the socialnetwork of user 1701. For example, a search for “John Smith” by a user1701 logged in to Facebook may return results including phone numbersfor those John Smiths that are connected in some way to the user 1701'sFacebook friends network, perhaps ranked by degree of direct connection.Phone numbers for the John Smiths may be determined by the methodsdescribed herein or in the art for identity prediction, based on, forexample, location of the searching user 1701 and/or publicly availablerecords for the list of John Smiths. In another embodiment,disambiguation unit 1702 may query cross-carrier subscriber database1726 (as described herein) containing telecommunication carriersubscriber device identification information across a social network forthe search term in question to find a phone number for the John Smith ofinterest. In this way, a universal white pages for a social network maybe created, for all telecommunications carriers, so that users may findphone numbers and other contact information, for example, for otherpeople in their social network. Those people need not necessarily bedirectly or even indirectly connected to the user 1701 in the network.

In some embodiments, user 1701 will provide both primary query data 1702and ancillary query data 1703 to disambiguation unit 1702. In anotherembodiment, user 1701 may provide primary query data 1702 and grantaccess to ancillary query data 1703, for example by an affirmative stepof opting-in or by not opting-out of a request by disambiguation unit1702. Ancillary query data may be obtainable as a matter of course bydisambiguation unit 1702. For example, image data for a user 1701providing videochat data to a search website, device identification dataprovided by an iPhone app, or location information provided by a user'sinternet protocol address may be among those data that are freely givenor available to a computing device networked with a device upon whichuser 1701 has entered primary query data 1702. Other ancillary querydata may be available from a social network that the user 1701 is loggedin to. For example, Facebook may provide proper names, usernames,images, birthdates, telephone numbers, friend lists, or other data thatit has about the users of its social network. Such information may bepublicly available.

Operation 1830 depicts presenting a disambiguated search term at leastpartly based on at least one of the network-participation identifierdata or the device-identifier data. For example, disambiguation unit1702, upon making an association between a search term and ancillarydata, for example, related to the user 1701, may present a disambiguatedsearch term at least partly based on at least one of thenetwork-participation identifier data or the device-identifier data andancillary data. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 may accept asearch term such as Jane Doe from user 1701. Disambiguation unit 1702may then note the internet protocol address of the device from whichuser 1701 is performing the search. Disambiguation unit 1702 may thendetermine a region in which the user 1701 is located, and then limit itssearch to known Jane Doe's in that region, or in another embodiment, toJane Doe's associated with user 1701's social network.

As another example, disambiguation unit 1702 may detect deviceidentifier data such as a mobile phone's integrated circuit card ID(ICC-ID) as the ancillary query data 1703 (for example, some iPhone appssend device ID data with other app data), and associate that device ID(or associated app data) with the primary query data to arrive at anassociation that allows for presentation of a disambiguated search termto the user 1701.

In some embodiments, disambiguation unit 1702 may include an identityprediction algorithm such as a de-anonymization algorithm, a real-nameprofiling algorithm, a web history tracking algorithm, media contenttracking algorithm, and/or an app list tracking algorithm. Thesealgorithms may aid in the association of ancillary query data with asearch term, where those associations are not provided directly by auser 1701 or readily apparent to disambiguation unit 1702.

FIG. 19 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 19 illustrates example embodiments where theaccepting operation 1810 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 1900, 1902, and/or operation1904.

Operation 1900 depicts accepting a name corresponding to at least onemember of a network. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 and/or namequery acceptor module 1706 may accept a name corresponding to at leastone member of a network. For example, name query acceptor module 1706may accept as primary query data the name John Smith corresponding to aJohn Smith in a social network of the user, for example, LinkedIn. Namesare typically entered by a user at a user interface, by typing,speaking, pasting, or other means of entering a name into a searchwindow or search box, for example in a web browser.

Operation 1902 depicts accepting at least one of a first name, a lastname, a nickname, a username, or a name including initials correspondingto at least one member of a network. For example, disambiguation unit1702 and/or name query acceptor module 1706 may accept at least one of afirst name, a last name, a nickname, a username, or a name includinginitials corresponding to at least one member of a network. For example,name query acceptor module 1706 may accept as primary query data thename J. J. Smith or Johnny Smith corresponding to a John Smith in asocial network of the user, for example, Google+.

Operation 1904 depicts accepting at least one of a physical address, anemail address, or a web address corresponding to at least one member ofa network. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 and/or name queryacceptor module 1706 may accept at least one of a physical address, anemail address, or a web address corresponding to at least one member ofa network. For example, name query acceptor module 1706 may accept asprimary query data “jsmith123@hotmail.com” corresponding to a John Smithin a social network of the user, for example, Facebook.

FIG. 20 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 20 illustrates example embodiments where thedisambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2000, 2002,and/or operation 2004.

Operation 2000 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data corresponding to at least one of a mobile phone,a wired telephone, a voice-over-internet-protocol telephone, a tabletcomputer, a notebook computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, ora networked television. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 and/ordevice-identifier data acceptor module 1712 may associate a search termwith a mobile equipment identifier corresponding to a mobile handset asancillary query data 1703 from a user 1701, telecommunications carrier220, or wireless communications service 222. As discussed above, aMobile Equipment IDentifier (MEID) is a globally unique 56-bitidentification number for a physical piece of mobile equipment.Equipment identifiers are “burned” into a device and are used as a meansto facilitate mobile equipment identification and tracking.Additionally, MEIDs are coordinated with International Mobile EquipmentIdentifiers (IMEIs), facilitating global roaming and harmonizationbetween 3G technologies as a universal mobile equipment identifier. TheMEID is a 14-digit hexadecimal value. The MEID is capable of beingtransmitted over the air upon a request from the network. The MEID iscomposed mainly of two basic components, the manufacturer code and theserial number. In some embodiments, associating primary query data 1702with device identification data such as the MEID provides an avenue fordisambiguation, because (1) disambiguation unit 1702 may find primarysearch term(s) on related devices on the same carrier service, or (2) byassociating devices in the same geographic area as determined by thedevice ID with the primary search term(s).

Operation 2002 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including a telephone number associated with atelephony device. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 and/ordevice-identifier data acceptor module 1712 may associate the at leastone search term with device-identifier data including a telephone numberassociated with a telephony device. To continue the example discussedabove, disambiguation unit 1702 may make the association between aprimary search term and a device related (perhaps by carrier service orlocation) to the device of the user with a known MEID. In this case, theMEID may provide a link to a telephone number for its mobile device.This telephone number may in turn be used to find a telephone number fora John Smith as a search term, for example where aninter-service-provider directory of unique identifiers has been created,as discussed above.

Operation 2004 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including subscriber identity module data orintegrated circuit card identifier data corresponding to at least onecommunication device. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 and/ordevice-identifier data acceptor module 1712 may associate the at leastone search term with device-identifier data including subscriberidentity module data or integrated circuit card identifier datacorresponding to at least one communication device. For example,accessing ICCI device-identifier data corresponding to the user 1701 mayprovide location data, network participation data (by virtue of a nameassociated with the device-identifier data), other elements that may beused to associate a search term with relevant information. One use forthis disambiguation is to provide a universal white pages that can crosscarrier boundaries and include most if not all members of a socialnetwork, for example.

FIG. 21 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 21 illustrates example embodiments where thedisambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2100, 2102,and/or operation 2104.

Operation 2100 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including mobile equipment identifier datacorresponding to at least one communication device. For example,disambiguation unit 1702 and/or device-identifier data acceptor module1712 may associate the at least one search term with device-identifierdata including mobile equipment identifier data corresponding to atleast one communication device. In one embodiment, disambiguation unit1702 may associate a search term with a Unique Device Identifier (UDID)for an iPhone upon which the user 1701 is performing the search. iPhoneapps are known to transmit device ID information with other app data,thus this is something that may be accepted by disambiguation unit 1702in course of receiving the primary query data 1702. Having iPhone deviceID information allows disambiguation unit 1702 to make find additionalinformation about the user 1701, in order to make associations betweenthe device/network participation of the user 1701 and the member of anetwork that user 1701 is searching for.

Operation 2102 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including international mobile subscriberidentity data corresponding to at least one communication device. Forexample, disambiguation unit 1702 and/or device-identifier data acceptormodule 1712 may associate the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including international mobile subscriberidentity data corresponding to at least one communication device. In oneembodiment, disambiguation unit 1702 may associate a search term with anIMSI belonging to cell phone upon which the user 1701 is performing thesearch. Having the IMSI may provide disambiguation unit 1702 withlocation data, for example, country of origin data, with which to makeassociations between the user 1701 and the member of a network that user1701 is searching for. For example, IMSI data indicating that the user1701 has a service plan in Finland may serve to elevate the rank ofsearch results known to be located in Finland. For example, IMSI dataindicating a Finnish origin of user 1701 may result in John Smith's (thesearch term) that have Finnish connections being ranked higher in thepresentation of disambiguated search terms.

Operation 2104 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including electronic serial number datacorresponding to at least one communication device. For example,disambiguation unit 1702 and/or device-identifier data acceptor module1712 may associate the at least one search term with device-identifierdata including electronic serial number data corresponding to at leastone communication device. In one embodiment, disambiguation unit 1702may associate a search term with an electronic serial number belongingto cell phone of a member of the same carrier network as the user 1701.In this embodiment, membership in the same carrier network may be asignificant association that elevates the rank of that result as adisambiguated search term.

FIG. 22 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 22 illustrates example embodiments where thedisambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2202, 2204, 2206,and/or operation 2208.

Operation 2202 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 may associate a mobileequipment identifier from a mobile phone's SIM card from atelecommunications carrier 220, the MEID corresponding to a billingaccount for a subscriber of a wireless service provided by thetelecommunications carrier 220, for example, user 1701. That associationmay then in turn be used to associate a search term from user 1701 withresults having connections to user 1701 and/or the carrier 220associated with user 1701's billing account.

Operation 2204 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises at least oneof a cable telecommunications billing account, a wirelesstelecommunications billing account, or a satellite telecommunicationsbilling account. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 may associate theat least one search term with device-identifier data includingdevice-identifier data corresponding to at least one communicationdevice that is linked to at least one billing account, wherein the atleast one billing account comprises at least one of a cabletelecommunications billing account, a wireless telecommunicationsbilling account, or a satellite telecommunications billing account. Forexample, disambiguation unit 1702 may receive ancillary query data 1703from user 1701 in the form of login status at a website, such as aGoogle home page. In one embodiment that login status may include dataregarding a wireless telecommunications billing account, for example,for an Android mobile device. Such data may include name, address, orother personal information about user 1701 that may be used bydisambiguation unit 1702 to make associations between a search term andthe sphere of connections surrounding user 1701.

Operation 2206 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises anelectronic payment account. For example, disambiguation unit 1702 mayassociate the at least one search term with device-identifier dataincluding device-identifier data corresponding to at least onecommunication device that is linked to at least one billing account,wherein the at least one billing account comprises an electronic paymentaccount. For example, to continue the example above, disambiguation unit1702 may receive ancillary query data 1703 from user 1701 in the form oflogin status at a website, such as a Google home page. In one embodimentthat login status may include data regarding an electronic billingaccount, for example, Google Wallet. In another embodiment,disambiguation unit 1702 may receive ancillary query data 1703 from user1701 in the form of a mobile device ID for an Android mobile phone froman Android app such as “Android Device ID” available for download fromthe Android Market. The Android mobile device ID for the mobile phone,for example derived from a wireless network socket, may correspond to aGoogle Checkout account for the subscriber of the wireless service tothe mobile phone. As discussed above, such data may include name,address, or other personal information about user 1701 that may be usedby disambiguation unit 1702 to make associations between a search termand the sphere of connections surrounding user 1701.

Operation 2208 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises anelectronic payment account, and wherein the electronic payment accountcomprises at least one of a Google Checkout account, an Amazon Paymentsaccount, a PayPal account, or a mobile PayPal account. For example,disambiguation unit 1702 may associate the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one billingaccount, wherein the at least one billing account comprises anelectronic payment account, and wherein the electronic payment accountcomprises at least one of a Google Checkout account, an Amazon Paymentsaccount, a PayPal account, or a mobile PayPal account. For example,disambiguation unit 1702 may receive ancillary query data 1703 from user1701 in the form of login status at a website, such as Amazon.com. Inone embodiment that login status may include data regarding anelectronic billing account, for example, Amazon Payments. Such data mayinclude name, address, purchase history, wishlist, or other personalinformation about user 1701 that may be used by disambiguation unit 1702to make associations between a search term and the sphere of connectionssurrounding user 1701.

FIG. 23 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 23 illustrates example embodiments where thedisambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2300, 2302,and/or operation 2304.

Operation 2300 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one of acredit card account or a virtual account. For example, disambiguationunit 1702 may associate the at least one search term withdevice-identifier data including device-identifier data corresponding toat least one communication device that is linked to at least one of acredit card account or a virtual account. For example, a user's wirelessdevice's service subscription may be linked to a user's credit cardaccount.

Operation 2302 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with email datacorresponding to at least one user of at least one communication device.For example, disambiguation unit 1702 may associate the at least onesearch term with email data corresponding to at least one user of atleast one communication device. For example, network-participationidentifier data acceptor module 1714 may accept an email address asnetwork-participation identifier data corresponding to user 1701, theemail address associated with a name and address on file with atelecommunications company with which the user has a servicesubscription. In a further example, for a searching user 1701 logged into a gmail account, for example, disambiguation unit 1702 may haveaccess to text in the emails of the personal mailbox of the user as adata source to search for associations with the search term.

Operation 2304 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with email datacorresponding to at least one user of at least one communication device,wherein the email data comprises a simple mail transferprotocol-compatible email address or an email alias. In one example,disambiguation unit 1702 may associate the at least one search term withemail data corresponding to at least one user of at least onecommunication device, wherein the email data comprises a simple mailtransfer protocol-compatible email address or an email alias. Forexample, network-participation identifier data acceptor module 1714 mayaccept an email alias as network-participation identifier datacorresponding to user 1701, the email alias associated with a name onfile with a website with which the user has an account, such ashotmail.com.

FIG. 24 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 24 illustrates example embodiments where thedisambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2400, 2402, 2404,and/or operation 2406.

Operation 2400 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withnetwork-participation identifier data associated with at least one of auser's social security number, a user's national identification card, auser's biometric measurement, a user's passport number, a user's taxidentification number, a user's internet domain, or a user'sauthentication certificate. In one example, disambiguation unit 1702and/or ancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may associate the atleast one search term with network-participation identifier dataassociated with at least one of a user's social security number, auser's national identification card, a user's biometric measurement, auser's passport number, a user's tax identification number, a user'sinternet domain, or a user's authentication certificate. As anotherexample, network-participation identifier data acceptor module 1714 mayaccept a Facebook username or login status as network-participationidentifier data, the username associated with a photograph of the user1701 as image data or as a biometric measurement. In some embodiments,an image recognition system may be employed to associate an image with aspecific user 1701 for biometric purposes. Identifying features of theuser 1701, such as social network participation, national status, webpresence indicators (e.g., blog authorship, personal web pages, or thelike), may provide associations for disambiguation unit 1702 to use inpresenting a disambiguated search term of high relevance to the user1701.

As discussed above, as used herein, “network-participation identifierdata” may refer to a signifier of belonging in a network, such as anemail address; a username, such as a social networking user name; orother mark such as an image, number, or writing that signifiesparticipation in a particular network.

Operation 2402 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with socialnetworking data. In one example, disambiguation unit 1702 and/orancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may associate the at least onesearch term with social networking data. As another example,network-participation identifier data acceptor module 1714 may accept aFacebook username or login status as network-participation identifierdata, the username associated with a photograph of the user 1701,interests of the user 1701, education of the user 1701, home town of theuser 1701, current location of the user 1701 (e.g., city or street levellocation a la foursquare.com), or the like. As discussed above,identifying features of the user 1701 gleaned from social networkparticipation may provide associations with a search term fordisambiguation unit 1702 to use in presenting a disambiguated searchterm of high relevance to the user 1701. For example, searching for“Mike Jones” may result in disambiguation unit 1702 making anassociation with a Mike Jones who is a Google+ friend of a Google+friend of the user 1701 logged in to Google+. That specific Mike Jonesmay then be presented as the first result in a list of disambiguatedsearch terms. Details of the association may also be presented bydisambiguation unit 1702 with the disambiguated search term so as toinform the user 1701 as to the association underlying the ranking, andthe known attributes of that particular Mike Jones.

Operation 2404 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with socialnetworking data, wherein the social networking data comprises at leastone of a username, an @-tagged twitter handle, a corporate login, or awebsite uniform resource locator. In one example, disambiguation unit1702 and/or ancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may associate theat least one search term with social networking data, wherein the socialnetworking data comprises at least one of a username, an @-taggedtwitter handle, a corporate login, or a website uniform resourcelocator. As in the above Facebook example, network-participationidentifier data acceptor module 1714 may accept a Facebook username asnetwork-participation identifier data, the username associated withvarious attributes of the user 1701 as grist for making associationswith the search term(s).

Operation 2406 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with socialnetworking data, wherein the social networking data comprises at leastone of Facebook data, Twitter data, or LinkedIn data. In one example,disambiguation unit 1702 and/or ancillary query data acceptor module1710 may associate the at least one search term with social networkingdata, wherein the social networking data comprises at least one ofFacebook data, Twitter data, or LinkedIn data. For example,network-participation identifier data acceptor module 1714 may accept aLinkedIn username as network-participation identifier data, the usernameassociated with various attributes of the user 1701 as a basis formaking associations with the search term(s).

FIG. 25 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 25 illustrates example embodiments where thedisambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2502, 2504,and/or operation 2506.

Operation 2502 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with socialnetworking data, wherein the social networking data comprises at leastone of image data, constellation of social contact data, or user inputdata. In one example, disambiguation unit 1702 and/or ancillary querydata acceptor module 1710 may associate the at least one search termwith social networking data, wherein the social networking datacomprises at least one of image data, constellation of social contactdata, or user input data. For example, network-participation identifierdata acceptor module 1714 may accept a Facebook username asnetwork-participation identifier data, the username associated with aconstellation of friends of the user 1701, as a basis for makingassociations with the search term(s). As discussed above, a photographof a user 1701 may be analyzed by image recognition technologies toidentify a person having specific geographic, demographic, or otheridentifying characteristics.

Operation 2504 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with socialnetworking data, wherein the social networking data comprises dataaccumulated from multiple sources. In one example, disambiguation unit1702 and/or ancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may associate theat least one search term with social networking data, wherein the socialnetworking data comprises data accumulated from multiple sources. Forexample, network-participation identifier data acceptor module 1714 mayaccept a Google+ username and Twitter username as network-participationidentifier data, the usernames associated with a constellation ofFacebook friends and/or Twitter followers of the user 1701, as a basisfor making associations with the search term(s). In this way,significant power of association (and resulting disambiguation) may beobtained by making associations based on common matches from multiplesources.

Operation 2506 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with socialnetworking data, wherein the social networking data comprises at leastone of data used to create additional data or data used to findadditional data. In one example, disambiguation unit 1702 and/orancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may associate the at least onesearch term with social networking data, wherein the social networkingdata comprises at least one of data used to create additional data ordata used to find additional data. For example, network-participationidentifier data acceptor module 1714 may associate a search term with awebsite URL of a social networking site's videoconferencing or videochatfeed as data (website URL) used to create additional data (streamingvideo of conference/chat/network participants). In another example,disambiguation unit 1702 and/or ancillary query data acceptor module1710 may associate a search term with a user image or alias that can beused to find other data, for example as a search term in anreverse-image query or a text query, respectively.

FIG. 26 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 26 illustrates example embodiments where thedisambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2600, 2602,and/or operation 2604.

Operation 2600 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with a real-worlduser associated with at least one communication device. In one example,disambiguation unit 1702 and/or ancillary query data acceptor module1710 may associate the at least one search term with a real-world userassociated with at least one communication device. For example,network-participation identifier data acceptor module 1714 may associatea search term with a real-world user 1701 on the basis oftelecommunication carrier records and/or network account records, forexample when a user 1701 performs a Google search from a Google phonewhile logged in to a personal Google page or Google+. In otherembodiments, identity prediction methods may be employed to associate asearch term with a real-world user, or to associate a user 1701 with areal-world user, as described below. In some embodiments, disambiguationunit 1702 may associate user 1701 with identifying data (e.g., devicedata or network participation data), and then associate the now-knownattributes of the user 1701 with the search term in order todisambiguate the search term. Matches or associations derived in thisway may provide significant power in disambiguation by disambiguationunit 1702, which may present such matches as highly ranked disambiguatedsearch terms. This approach can also be done in a complementary way inreverse—disambiguation unit 1702 can associate a search term with deviceidentification data and/or network participation data, which can then becross-reference with known attributes of user 1701 to find commonalitiesindicative of relevance.

As another example, a Facebook username search term “Mike Jones” may beused by identity prediction module 122 to find the same username “MikeJones” on a blog containing a real-world name “Michael B. Jones” andmobile phone number associated with the username and real-world name,the mobile phone number being assigned to an iPhone associated with thereal-world user, whose “Mike Jones” username is within the same socialnetwork as the searching user 1701. This particular “Mike Jones” or“Michael B. Jones” may then be presented with the mobile phone number asa disambiguated search term to user 1701.

As described above, sources of data for associating a search term oruser 1701 with network-participation data and/or a communication devicemay include, for example, information that is provided by the user. Forexample, social network, message boards, internet forums, and the likemay contain a link between a username and a phone number, a real-worldname, birth date, gender, age, or other identifying attribute. Privatesources of data may also include information provided by the user, suchas private social networks, ecommerce websites, or any websites to whicha consumer provides sign-up information. Publicly available sources maycontain unique consumer information, including for example, vehicleregistration records, real estate records, driving records, votingrecords, political donations, health information, government relateddata, technographics, or any other on-line sources disclosinginformation about people. Examples of algorithms that may be employed toperform these associations can be found in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication 2010/0088313 “Data Source Attribution System,” herebyincorporated in its entirety by reference. See also U.S. PatentApplication Publication 2010/0010993 “Distributed Personal InformationAggregator,” also hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference. Seealso web databases such as the Notable Names Database (NNDB) athttp://www.nndb.com/ and similar public databases providing informationabout people.

Operation 2602 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with a real-worlduser associated with at least one communication device, wherein theassociating the at least one search term with a real-world userassociated with at least one communication device includes at least oneof performing the association using identity prediction, performing theassociation using de-anonymization, or performing the association usingreal-name profiling. In one example, disambiguation unit 1702,de-anonymization module 244, real-name profiling module 246, and/oridentity prediction module 122 may associate the at least one searchterm with a real-world user associated with at least one communicationdevice, wherein the associating the at least one search term with areal-world user associated with at least one communication deviceincludes at least one of performing the association using identityprediction, performing the association using de-anonymization, orperforming the association using real-name profiling. For example,real-name profiling module 246 may associate a name as a search termwith people having that name, including attributes that differentiatethose of the same name, such as location, age, or any otherdistinguishing features. Those attributes may be cross-referenced withattributes of the user 1701 to identify commonalities that wouldindicate a connection and increased relevance for disambiguation.

Operation 2604 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with a real-worlduser associated with at least one communication device, wherein theassociating the at least one search term with a real-world userassociated with at least one communication device includes at least oneof performing the association using web history tracking, performing theassociation using media content tracking, or performing the associationusing app data tracking. In one example, disambiguation unit 1702, webhistory tracking module 248, media content tracking module 250, app datatracking module 252, and/or identity prediction module 122 may associatethe at least one search term with a real-world user associated with atleast one communication device, wherein the associating the at least onesearch term with a real-world user associated with at least onecommunication device includes at least one of performing the associationusing web history tracking, performing the association using mediacontent tracking, or performing the association using app data tracking.

For example, app data tracking module 252 may obtain and associate auser's device ID with a telecommunications carrier network. That networkmay then be used as a basis for finding a relevant search term, therebynarrowing the possibilities and disambiguating the search term.Alternatively, ancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may accept fromGoogle the email address of a user 1701 associated with an Android phoneand corresponding account with a wireless carrier (e.g., the userperforming a Google search on an Android phone). In this example, appdata tracking module 252 may match the email address with device ID fromthe phone, e.g., SIM data, by monitoring apps used by the user 1701 thatprovide this data, and then make the association between the emailaddress and the phone. Additionally, web history tracking module 248 maysearch public databases for identifying features of a real-world, suchas physical address or phone number associated with the user's emailaddress, for example by searching department of motor vehicle records orreal estate records. As discussed above, those attributes may becross-referenced with attributes of the search term to identifycommonalities that would indicate a connection and increased relevancefor disambiguation.

FIG. 27 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 27 illustrates example embodiments where thedisambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2700, 2702, 2704,2706, and/or operation 2708.

Operation 2700 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term withnetwork-participation identifier data and device-identifier data. In oneexample, disambiguation unit 1702, ancillary query data acceptor module1710, and/or identity prediction module 122 may disambiguate, the atleast one search term by associating the at least one search term withnetwork-participation identifier data and device-identifier datarelating to a searching user 1701. For example, ancillary query dataacceptor module 1710 may receive both device location data, for examplevia foursquare, and network participation data via Facebook for the user1701. Disambiguation unit 1702 may then apply those data to the searchterm, “Mike Jones” for example, to find those “Mike Jones”es who arenear the user's location and either in the Facebook social network orspecifically connected to the searching user 1701 on Facebook orconnected to a friend of the searching user 1701.

Operation 2702 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with data indicatingthe origin of input of the at least one search term. In one example,disambiguation unit 1702, ancillary query data acceptor module 1710,and/or identity prediction module 122 may disambiguate the at least onesearch term by associating the at least one search term with dataindicating the origin of input of the at least one search term. Forexample, ancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may receive devicelocation data, for example via foursquare, for the user 1701.Disambiguation unit 1702 may then apply those data to the search term,“MJones” for example, to find those “MJones”es who are near the user'sfoursquare location.

Operation 2704 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with data indicatingthe origin of input of the at least one search term, wherein the dataindicating the origin of input of the at least one search term includesinternet protocol address data. In one example, disambiguation unit1702, ancillary query data acceptor module 1710, and/or identityprediction module 122 may disambiguate the at least one search term byassociating the at least one search term with data indicating the originof input of the at least one search term, wherein the data indicatingthe origin of input of the at least one search term includes internetprotocol address data. For example, ancillary query data acceptor module1710 may receive device location data including IP address data, forexample via a web browsing session on a desktop computer, for the user1701. To the extent that an IP address provides an indication ofgeographic location, disambiguation unit 1702 may then apply thoselocation data to the search term, “MJones” for example, to find those“MJones”es who are near the user's computer's location. Disambiguationunit 1702 may employ geolocation software to identify, based on a user'sIP address, the country (including down to the city and ZIP code level),organization, or user the IP address has been assigned to. Other methodsinclude examination of a MAC address, image metadata, or availablecredit card information.

Operation 2706 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with data indicatingthe origin of input of the at least one search term, wherein the dataindicating the origin of input of the at least one search term isderived from at least one of cellular phone tower proximity, Wi-Fi use,user-entered location data, or proximity to at least one other device.In one example, disambiguation unit 1702, ancillary query data acceptormodule 1710, and/or identity prediction module 122 may disambiguate theat least one search term by associating the at least one search termwith data indicating the origin of input of the at least one searchterm, wherein the data indicating the origin of input of the at leastone search term is derived from at least one of cellular phone towerproximity, Wi-Fi use, user-entered location data, or proximity to atleast one other device. For example, ancillary query data acceptormodule 1710 may receive device location data from a Wi-Fi smart phone ofa searching user 1701 by accessing a database that contains locationinformation for the Wi-Fi network, and then ancillary query dataacceptor module 1710 may use that location data to disambiguate thesearch term relative to the user's location.

Operation 2708 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with data indicatingthe origin of input of the at least one search term, wherein the dataindicating the origin of input of the at least one search term isderived from at least one of a detected vehicle use, a detected useractivity, or a detected user location. In one example, disambiguationunit 1702, ancillary query data acceptor module 1710, and/or identityprediction module 122 may disambiguate the at least one search term byassociating the at least one search term with data indicating the originof input of the at least one search term, wherein the data indicatingthe origin of input of the at least one search term is derived from atleast one of a detected vehicle use, a detected user activity, or adetected user location. For example, ancillary query data acceptormodule 1710 may receive device location data from detected automobileuse, based on, for example, last known location and predicted range oftravel of an automobile equipped with gps tracking, for example. Inanother example, ancillary query data acceptor module 1710 may receiveor deduce location data from a detected user activity, for example,checking in with foursquare at a specific location or searching fordriving directions in a web browser, respectively.

FIG. 28 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 28 illustrates an example embodiment wherethe disambiguating operation 1820 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2800.

Operation 2800 depicts disambiguating the at least one search termincluding associating the at least one search term with at least oneentry in an inter-service-provider directory of device-associated users.In one example, disambiguation unit 1702, ancillary query data acceptormodule 1710, and/or identity prediction module 122 may disambiguate theat least one search term by associating the at least one search termwith at least one entry in an inter-service-provider directory ofdevice-associated users. For example as discussed above, atelecommunications carrier, social network, or other entity may create adirectory of device-associated users across all carriers that functionsas a modern-day white pages for communication devices regardless ofcarrier. This “inter-service-provider directory” may, for example and asdiscussed above, be based on SIM data identifying a user's mobile phone,and at least partly based on a user's participation in a wirelessnetwork. Attributes associated with entries in such a directory may beused by disambiguation unit 1704 to associate a search term with a phonenumber in the instant application, for presenting to the user 1701 as adisambiguated search term.

As discussed above, if many wireless carriers agree to share theirunique identifier lists and keep them in the same format for use as aglobal directory of mobile phone users, a comprehensive “white pages” ofcommunications device users becomes possible, across potentially allservice providers. Such a directory could also be keyed to socialnetworking data such as username or user image, such that, for example,Facebook users could easily find each other's device contact informationand possibly location information. Inclusion of users' deviceinformation in such a directory could be done on an opt-in basis.

As used herein, a unique identifier based on a device-identifier and anetwork-participant identifier may be keyed to that underlying data.That is, having the unique identifier corresponding to specific devicedata and specific network-participation identifier data associated witha verified real-world user associated with the at least onecommunication device will permit the creator of the unique identifier touse it to call up the specific device data and specific networkparticipation identifier data. This may allow, for example, atelecommunications carrier to disambiguate one user from another havingsimilar or identical network participation identifier data. This can bedone on the basis of different device identifier data for the two userswith similar or identical network participation identifier data, forexample.

FIG. 29 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 1800 of FIG. 18. FIG. 29 illustrates an example embodiment wherethe presenting operation 1830 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 2900.

Operation 2900 depicts presenting a disambiguated search term at leastpartly based on both network-participation identifier data anddevice-identifier data. In one example, disambiguation unit 1702,ancillary query data acceptor module 1710, and/or identity predictionmodule 122 may present a disambiguated search term at least partly basedon both network-participation identifier data and device-identifierdata. For example, ancillary query data acceptor module 1710 mayassociate a user's IP address-derived location data and social networkparticipation data with a search term to narrow the list of possiblematches for the search term, filter out likely mismatches, and rankresults in order of relevance.

FIG. 30 illustrates a partial view of an example article of manufacture3000 that includes a computer program 3004 for executing a computerprocess on a computing device. An embodiment of the example article ofmanufacture 3000 is provided including a signal bearing medium 3002, andmay include one or more instructions for accepting at least one searchterm corresponding to at least one member of a network; one or moreinstructions for disambiguating the at least one search term includingassociating the at least one search term with at least one ofnetwork-participation identifier data or device-identifier data; and oneor more instructions for presenting a disambiguated search term at leastpartly based on at least one of the network-participation identifierdata or the device-identifier data. The one or more instructions may be,for example, computer executable and/or logic-implemented instructions.In one implementation, the signal-bearing medium 3002 may include acomputer-readable medium 3006. In one implementation, the signal bearingmedium 3002 may include a recordable medium 3008. In one implementation,the signal bearing medium 3002 may include a communications medium 3010.

FIG. 31 illustrates an example system 3100 in which embodiments may beimplemented. The system 3100 includes a computing system environment.The system 3100 also illustrates a user 3112 using a device 3104, whichis optionally shown as being in communication with a computing device3102 by way of an optional coupling 3106. The optional coupling 3106 mayrepresent a local, wide-area, or peer-to-peer network, or may representa bus that is internal to a computing device (e.g., in exampleembodiments in which the computing device 3102 is contained in whole orin part within the device 3104). A storage medium 3108 may be anycomputer storage media. In one embodiment, the computing device 3102 mayinclude a virtual machine operating within another computing device. Inan alternative embodiment, the computing device 3102 may include avirtual machine operating within a program running on a remote server.

The computing device 3102 includes computer-executable instructions 3110that when executed on the computing device 3102 cause the computingdevice 3102 to (a) accept at least one search term corresponding to atleast one member of a network; (b) disambiguate the at least one searchterm including associating the at least one search term with at leastone of network-participation identifier data or device-identifier data;and (c) presenting a disambiguated search term at least partly based onat least one of the network-participation identifier data or thedevice-identifier data. As referenced above and as shown in FIG. 31, insome examples, the computing device 3102 may optionally be contained inwhole or in part within the device 3104.

In FIG. 31, then, the system 3100 includes at least one computing device(e.g., 3102 and/or 3104). The computer-executable instructions 3110 maybe executed on one or more of the at least one computing device. Forexample, the computing device 3102 may implement the computer-executableinstructions 3110 and output a result to (and/or receive data from) thecomputing device 3104. Since the computing device 3102 may be wholly orpartially contained within the computing device 3104, the device 3104also may be said to execute some or all of the computer-executableinstructions 3110, in order to be caused to perform or implement, forexample, various ones of the techniques described herein, or othertechniques.

The device 3104 may include, for example, a portable computing device,workstation, or desktop computing device. In another example embodiment,the computing device 3102 is operable to communicate with the device3104 associated with the user 3112 to receive information about theinput from the user 3112 for performing data access and data processing,and present a disambiguated search term at least partly based on atleast one of the network-participation identifier data or thedevice-identifier data.

Identifying a Communications Partner

FIG. 32 illustrates an example system 3200 in which embodiments may beimplemented. The system 3200 includes a sender profile creation unit3204. The sender profile creation unit 3204 may contain, for example,device-identifier module 3206 and network-participation identifiermodule 3220. Sender profile creation unit 3204 may communicate over anetwork or directly with sender 3201 to accept telephone communication3202. Optionally, sender profile creation unit 3204 may also includeidentity prediction module 3224 for associating network-participationidentifier data with the telephone communication 3202. Sender profilecreation unit 3204 may also include device locator module 3212,telecommunications carrier database 3236, cross-carrier subscriberdatabase 3238, personal software assistant 3216, and/or display module3240.

In some embodiments, identity prediction module 3224 may include varioussearch and/or matching functions for associating a sender profile with atelephone communication 3202. For example, identity prediction module3224 may include de-anonymization module 3226, real-name profilingmodule 3228, web history tracking module 3230, media content trackingmodule 3232, and/or app data tracking module 3234.

Device-identifier module 3206 may include mobile network identifiermodule 3208 and/or brand identifier module 3210. As discussed above, forthe purposes of this application, SIM as used herein includes mini-SIM,micro-SIM, Universal Subscriber Identity Module, CDMA SubscriberIdentity Module, Universal Integrated Circuit Card, Removable UserIdentity Module, virtual SIM, and other variants of the subscriberidentity module described herein and understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art.

As referenced herein, the sender profile creation unit 3204 may be usedto perform various data querying and/or recall techniques with respectto the telephone communication 3202, device-identifier data, and/ornetwork-participation identifier data, in order to create a senderprofile. For example, where network-participation identifier data isorganized, keyed to, and/or otherwise accessible using one or more useraccounts such as social network, email, or the like, sender profilecreation unit 3204 may employ various Boolean, statistical, and/orsemi-boolean searching techniques to associate appropriatenetwork-participation identifier data about the sender with thetelephone communication 3202. Similarly, for example, wheredevice-identifier data is organized, keyed to, and/or otherwiseaccessible using device-identifier module 3206, various Boolean,statistical, and/or semi-boolean searching techniques may be performedby device-identifier module 3206 to associate appropriate deviceinformation with a sender profile and a telephone communication 3202.

Many examples of databases and database structures may be used inconnection with the sender profile creation unit 3204. Such examplesinclude hierarchical models (in which data is organized in a tree and/orparent-child node structure), network models (based on set theory, andin which multi-parent structures per child node are supported), orobject/relational models (combining the relational model with theobject-oriented model).

Still other examples include various types of eXtensible Mark-upLanguage (XML) databases. For example, a database may be included thatholds data in some format other than XML, but that is associated with anXML interface for accessing the database using XML. As another example,a database may store XML data directly. Additionally, or alternatively,virtually any semi-structured database may be used, so that context maybe provided to/associated with stored data elements (either encoded withthe data elements, or encoded externally to the data elements), so thatdata storage and/or access may be facilitated.

Such databases, and/or other memory storage techniques, may be writtenand/or implemented using various programming or coding languages. Forexample, object-oriented database management systems may be written inprogramming languages such as, for example, C++ or Java. Relationaland/or object/relational models may make use of database languages, suchas, for example, the structured query language (SQL), which may be used,for example, for interactive queries for finding information relevant toa telephone communication and/or for gathering and/or compiling datafrom the relational database(s).

For example, SQL or SQL-like operations over one or moredevice-identifier data and/or network-participation identifier data maybe performed, or Boolean operations using device-identifier data and/ornetwork-participation identifier data may be performed. For example,weighted Boolean operations may be performed in which different weightsor priorities are assigned to one or more of the device-identifier dataand/or network-participation identifier data, including various networkparticipation characteristics associated with a particular sender 3201,perhaps relative to one another. For example, a number-weighted,exclusive-OR operation may be performed to request specific weightingsof network participation identifiers.

In FIG. 32, sender profile creation unit 3204 may associate a telephonecommunication 3202 with information about the device that the sender3201 is using to make the telephone communication, such as device brandor model, telecommunications carrier name, and/or device-identifier datasuch as SIM data or other data that may identify a specific device orsender, as discussed above. Optionally, sender profile creation unit3204 may include a device locator module 3212 that may associate geodatawith telephone communication 3202.

In FIG. 32, sender profile creation unit 3204 is illustrated as possiblybeing included within a system 3200. Of course, virtually any kind ofcomputing device may be used to implement the special purpose senderprofile creation unit 3204, such as, for example, a smart phone, amobile computer such as a tablet or a laptop, a workstation, a desktopcomputer, a networked computer, a server, a collection of servers and/ordatabases, or a virtual machine running inside a computing device.

Additionally, not all of the sender profile creation unit 3204 need beimplemented on a single computing device. For example, the senderprofile creation unit 3204 may be implemented and/or operable on aremote computer, while a user interface and/or local instance of thesender profile creation unit 3204 are implemented and/or occur on alocal computer. Further, aspects of the sender profile creation unit3204 may be implemented in different combinations and implementationsthan that shown in FIG. 32. For example, functionality of a userinterface may be incorporated into the sender profile creation unit3204. In one embodiment, sender profile information may be presented viaa personal software assistant 3216 such as SIRI 3218. The sender profilecreation unit 3204 may perform simple data relay functions and/orcomplex data analysis, including, for example, fuzzy logic and/ortraditional logic steps. Further, many methods of associating data witha telephone call described herein or known in the art may be used,including, for example, algorithms used in caller identification,automatic number identification, or carrier identification coding. Insome embodiments, the sender profile creation unit 3204 may create asender profile based on device-identifier data and/ornetwork-participation identifier data available as updates through anetwork.

Sender profile creation unit 3204 may access data stored in virtuallyany type of memory that is able to store and/or provide access toinformation in, for example, a one-to-many, many-to-one, and/ormany-to-many relationship. Such a memory may include, for example, arelational database and/or an object-oriented database, examples ofwhich are provided in more detail herein.

FIG. 33 illustrates certain alternative embodiments of the system 3200of FIG. 32. In FIG. 33, the sender profile creation unit 3204 mayinterface over a network, such as the internet. Sender profile creationunit 3204 may communicate over a network or directly with recipient 3306to associate a profile with telephone communication 3202. In this way,the sender profile creation unit 3204 may generate a sender profile thatcontains a rich set of information about the sender for the benefit ofrecipient 3306. Many of the functions of sender profile creation unit3204 may be performed in the cloud 3308, for example on remote serverswith high computing power and capacity relative to, for example, a givenmobile device receiving a telephone communication as recipient 3306. Inthis example, a mobile device receiving a telephone communication maysend data regarding the telephone communication for processing andsender profile creation. A profile associated with the telephonecommunication by a sender profile creation unit 3204 located in thecloud may then be sent to be presented on a local device to recipient3306.

In some embodiments, sender profile creation unit 3204 may accesstelecommunications carrier database 3236 in creating a sender profile,for example. Sender profile creation unit 3204 can be operated by atelecom company or by a social or other network owner, or by both incooperation with each other. In one embodiment, the compiled list ofunique identifiers discussed above provides an easy resource fororganizing profiles containing both device identifier data andnetwork-participation identifier data, including social network andemail data.

A directory of uniquely-identified devices can serve as the foundationfor enhanced caller identification functions, whereby a recipient of atelephone communication can quickly and easily access information aboutthe caller beyond just name, phone number, and general location.Additional axes of information about a sender 3201 may include, forexample, social network participation, email address, twitter handle,and/or blog activity.

Following are a series of flowcharts depicting implementations. For easeof understanding, the flowcharts are organized such that the initialflowcharts present implementations via an example implementation andthereafter the following flowcharts present alternate implementationsand/or expansions of the initial flowchart(s) as either sub-componentoperations or additional component operations building on one or moreearlier-presented flowcharts. Those having skill in the art willappreciate that the style of presentation utilized herein (e.g.,beginning with a presentation of a flowchart presenting an exampleimplementation and thereafter providing additions to and/or furtherdetails in subsequent flowcharts) generally allows for a rapid and easyunderstanding of the various process implementations. In addition, thoseskilled in the art will further appreciate that the style ofpresentation used herein also lends itself well to modular and/orobject-oriented program design paradigms.

FIG. 34 illustrates an operational flow 3400 representing exampleoperations related to identifying a communications partner. In FIG. 34and in following figures that include various examples of operationalflows, discussion and explanation may be provided with respect to theabove-described system environments of FIGS. 32-33, and/or with respectto other examples and contexts. However, it should be understood thatthe operational flows may be executed in a number of other environmentsand contexts, and/or in modified versions of FIGS. 32-33. Also, althoughthe various operational flows are presented in the sequence(s)illustrated, it should be understood that the various operations may beperformed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may beperformed concurrently.

After a start operation, operation 3410 depicts accepting at least onetelephone communication from at least one member of a network. Forexample, sender profile creation unit 3204 and/or device-identifiermodule 3206 can accept at least one telephone communication from atleast one member of a network. In one embodiment, a user or recipientwith a mobile phone may receive a telephone call from a Facebook friend.That telephone call may be accompanied by information about the sendersuch as caller ID giving the telephone number called from and a nameassociated with the telephone number. In some instances a location wherethe phone number is registered is also available. In another embodiment,mobile telephone device users may opt-in to a system in which theirdevice ID information, e.g., SIM data or IMEI data, is transmitted withtheir phone call, so that a recipient can identify additionalinformation about the caller. Further, it is envisioned herein that forthose sharing some aspect of their social graph, e.g., co-membership ina social network, additional information may be transmitted to a callrecipient from a sender including, e.g., social network identifiers suchas usernames, twitter handles, or other elements of social networkactivity as described below.

Operation 3420 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204,device-identifier module 3206 and/or network-participation identifiermodule 3220 may associate the at least one telephone communication witha sender profile at least partly based on the sender's device-identifierdata and the sender's network-participation identifier data. In oneembodiment, device-identifier module 3206 may identify a telephone callas one originated from an iPhone and handled by Verizon as the wirelesscarrier. Further, network-participation identifier module 3220 mayassociate a name connected to the telephone number of the sender with aFacebook friend of the recipient of the telephone call. Sender profilecreation unit 3204 may then associate a profile of the sender with thetelephone call, wherein the profile consists of the name associated withthe telephone number of the sender, a Facebook user name, a Facebookprofile picture, a twitter handle, an email address, and a location ofthe sending device.

In some embodiments, sender profile creation unit 3204 may include anidentity prediction algorithm such as a de-anonymization algorithm, areal-name profiling algorithm, a web history tracking algorithm, mediacontent tracking algorithm, and/or an app list tracking algorithm. Thesealgorithms may aid in the association of network-participationidentifier data with a telephone communication, for example by searchingpublic or private databases for the telephone number and/or nameassociated with the number to find relevant network-participationidentifier data.

In some embodiments, sender profile creation unit 3204 may associate atelephone number with a person including network-participationinformation about the person by accessing a unique identifiercorresponding to the person and their device as described above. Forexample, Facebook may provide usernames, images, birthdates, telephonenumbers, or other data that it has about the users of its social networkto a consortium of telecommunications carriers 220 (this may optionallyinvolve an opting-in step whereby users of Facebook affirmativelyapprove this action), who may provide device-identifier data 108.Assigning a unique identifier (discussed above) for eachnetwork-user-associated device across each of the carriers in theconsortium may result in a directory that is particularly valuable forthe telecommunications carriers, who can then provide directorysearching, support, and disambiguation for a potentially large fractionof the Facebook social network. Such a directory will likely be of equalinterest and value to networks including Facebook in this example, forthe same reasons. For example, a cross-carrier directory of Facebookmembers with associated phone numbers would be an added feature forFacebook that could significantly enhance the social informationprovided by the network. An enhanced caller ID that provides socialnetwork information about the caller/sender, for example as contactinformation, would be useful for recipients of phone calls.

Operation 3430 depicts presenting the sender profile in association withthe at least one telephone communication. For example, sender profilecreation unit 3204, device-identifier module 3206, network-participationidentifier module 3220 and/or personal software assistant 3216 maypresent the sender profile in association with the at least onetelephone communication, optionally via display module 3240. In oneembodiment, personal software assistant 3216 may present a profile of asender as a set of attributes of the sender including name, phonenumber, wireless carrier network, blog address, and email address to arecipient 3306 of a telephone call.

In another embodiment, the profile or set of attributes of the sendermay be integrated into a contact file for the sender in an applicationon the recipient's telephony device. For example, SIRI 3218 may storeeach element of a profile associated with the telephone number on apersonalized gmail contact page for the sender, perhaps updatingoutdated items in an existing entry, filling in missing items in anexisting entry, or creating a new entry.

FIG. 35 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 35 illustrates example embodiments where theaccepting operation 3410 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 3500, 3502, and/or operation3504.

Operation 3500 depicts receiving at least one telephone communication ona mobile telecommunications device. For example, sender profile creationunit 3204 and/or recipient 3306 may receive at least one telephonecommunication on a mobile telecommunications device. In one embodiment,a person may receive a telephone call on a smart phone running a senderprofile creation unit 3204 program that can identify device-identifierdata sent with the telephone communication by a sender 3201, associatedevice-identifier data with a name, and use that name to search for andfind additional information about the sender. Sender profile creationunit 3204 may then associate the additional information about the senderwith the telephone communication and present the additional informationin a profile to the recipient 3306 of the telephone communication.

Operation 3502 depicts receiving at least one telephone communication onat least one of a mobile telephone, a tablet computer, a notebookcomputer, or a laptop computer. For example, sender profile creationunit 3204 and/or recipient 3306 may receive at least one telephonecommunication on at least one of a mobile telephone, a tablet computer,a notebook computer, or a laptop computer. Many mobile computing devicesare equipped with telephony capability, whether implemented by VOIPtechnology, cellular network radio technology or satellitecommunications technology. In one embodiment, a person may receive atelephone call on a tablet computer via the Skype VOIP service, whereinthe tablet includes a sender profile creation unit 3204 program that canidentify device-identifier data sent with the telephone communication bya sender 3201, associate device-identifier data with a name, and usethat name to search for and find additional information such as(network-participation data) about the sender. As above, sender profilecreation unit 3204 may then associate the additional information aboutthe sender with the telephone communication and present the additionalinformation in a profile to the recipient 3306 of the telephonecommunication.

Operation 3504 depicts receiving at least one telephone communication onat least one of a fixed-line telephone, a desktop computer, or anetworked television. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204and/or recipient 3306 may receive at least one telephone communicationon at least one of a fixed-line telephone, a desktop computer, or anetworked television. As with mobile computing devices discussed above,many home computing devices are also equipped with telephony capability,including computers used primarily in the home and even internet-readytelevisions and televisions compatible for use in video conferencing. Inone embodiment, a person may receive a telephone call on a networkedtelevision such as a television equipped with the Cisco Umi, a devicewith a camera mounted on the top of the television screen that cancapture 1080p video at about 30 frames per second. The camera isconnected to a set-top box that connects to the internet through eithera wired connection or Wi-Fi and compresses the video. In this example,the television or accessory device may include a sender profile creationunit 3204 program that can identify device-identifier data sent with thetelephone communication by a sender 3201, associate device-identifierdata with a name, and use that name to search for and find additionalinformation such as (network-participation data) about the sender. Asabove, sender profile creation unit 3204 may then associate theadditional information about the sender with the telephone communicationand present the additional information in a profile to the recipient3306 of the telephone communication, perhaps directly on the televisionscreen.

FIG. 36 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 36 illustrates example embodiments where theaccepting operation 3410 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operation 3600, 3602, 3604, 3606,and/or operation 3608.

Operation 3600 depicts receiving at least one telephone communicationvia a voice-over-internet-protocol telephone service. For example,sender profile creation unit 3204 and/or recipient 3306 may receive atleast one telephone communication via a voice-over-internet-protocoltelephone service. In one embodiment, a person may receive a telephonecall on their iPhone via Apple's FaceTime app which uses 3G or 4Gwireless signaling to a VoIP app on the iPhone. In this example, if thesender's device is also an iPhone, the sender's device information mayinclude iOS information, iPhone model information, specific unitidentifier information such as the iPhone's UDID, as discussed above.The device information including the telephone number of the sender canbe used by sender profile creation unit 3204 to associate thedevice-identifier data with a name, and use that name to search for andfind additional information such as (network-participation data) aboutthe sender. As above, sender profile creation unit 3204 may thenassociate the additional information about the sender with the telephonecommunication and present the additional information in a profile to therecipient 3306 of the telephone communication, for example on the iPhonedisplay and/or stored in a sender profile on the iPhone. Other examplesof VoIP services include Skype, iChat, Vonage, and RingCentral.

VoIP may be implemented on “softphones.” Softphones are client devicesfor making and receiving voice and video calls over the IP network andusually allow integration with IP phones and USB phones instead ofutilizing a computer's microphone and speakers (or a headset). Mostsoftphone clients run on the open Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)supporting various codecs. Skype runs on a closed proprietary network,though the network (but not the official Skype client software) alsosupports SIP clients. Online chat programs now also incorporate voiceand video communications.

Other VoIP software applications include conferencing servers, intercomsystems, virtual foreign exchange offices, and adapted telephonysoftware which concurrently support VoIP and PSTN-like interactive voiceresponse systems, dial-in dictation, on hold, and call recordingservers.

Other terms frequently encountered and often used synonymously with VoIPare IP telephony, Internet telephony, voice over broadband (VoBB),broadband telephony, and broadband phone. VoIP includes voice, fax, SMS,and/or voice-messaging applications that are transported via theinterne, rather than the public-switched telephone network (PSTN). Thesteps involved in originating a VoIP telephone call are signaling andmedia channel setup, digitization of the analog voice signal, encoding,packetization, and transmission as Internet Protocol (IP) packets over apacket-switched network. On the receiving side, similar steps (usuallyin the reverse order) such as reception of the IP packets, decoding ofthe packets and digital-to-analog conversion reproduce the originalvoice stream. Even though IP Telephony and VoIP are terms that are usedinterchangeably, they are actually different; IP telephony has to dowith digital telephony systems that use IP protocols for voicecommunication while VoIP is actually a subset of IP telephony. VoIP is atechnology used by IP telephony as a means of transporting phone calls.For the purposes of this application, VoIP is synonymous with IPtelephony.

VoIP systems employ session control protocols to control the set-up andtear-down of calls as well as audio codecs which encode speech allowingtransmission over an IP network as digital audio via an audio stream.The codec used is varied between different implementations of VoIP (andoften a range of codecs are used); some implementations rely onnarrowband and compressed speech, while others support high fidelitystereo codecs.

VoIP is available on many smartphones and interne devices so even theusers of portable devices that are not phones can still make calls orsend SMS text messages over 3G, 4G, or Wi-Fi.

Operation 3602 depicts accepting at least one telephone communicationvia at least one of a packet-switched network, a circuit-switchednetwork, or a hybrid circuit and packet-switched network. For example,sender profile creation unit 3204 and/or recipient 3306 may accept atleast one telephone communication via at least one of a packet-switchednetwork, a circuit-switched network, or a hybrid circuit andpacket-switched network. In one embodiment, a person may receive atelephone call on their home landline (also called fixed-line telephone)from a sender using a VoIP app on a mobile device. In this example of ahybrid system, telephone communication may travel on a both apacket-switched network (the internet) and a circuit-switched network(e.g., the telephone company's public switched telephone network orPSTN; or the private branch exchange or PBX). Virtual circuit switchingis a packet switching technology that emulates circuit switching, in thesense that the connection is established before any packets aretransferred, and packets are delivered in order. Examples of packetswitched networks include the interne and most local area networks.

Operation 3604 depicts accepting at least one telephone communicationfrom at least one member of a social network. For example, senderprofile creation unit 3204 and/or recipient 3306 may accept at least onetelephone communication from at least one member of a social network. Inone embodiment, a person may receive a telephone call from a sender whois a member of the Facebook social network. Sender profile creation unit3204 may search social network databases by telephone number or nameassociated with the telephone number to find social networks thatinclude members with the same name or number. Moreover, intersectionsbetween sender and recipient social network data may be identified bynetwork participation identifier module 3220, e.g., overlap of thesocial graph including direct connections or mutual friends on Facebook.Such connections may provide a tool for disambiguation as discussedabove, and may also provide content for a sender profile to be presentedto, e.g., recipient 3306.

Operation 3606 depicts receiving at least one telephone communicationfrom a member of a mobile phone telecommunications network. For example,sender profile creation unit 3204 and/or recipient 3306 may receive atleast one telephone communication from a member of a mobile phonetelecommunications network. In one embodiment, a person may receive atelephone call from a sender 3201 who is a member of the AT&T mobilephone telecommunications network. Sender profile creation unit 3204 maysearch the AT&T mobile phone telecommunications network by telephonenumber to find a name associated with the telephone number. Other usefulinformation about the sender's AT&T mobile phone telecommunicationsnetwork participation may also be associated with the telephonecommunication such as wireless plan usage information for purposes oflimiting airtime usage when a limit is near. For example, profilescontaining information about a sender's mobile phone telecommunicationsnetwork can be useful to a recipient for purposes of identifying thesender as a member of a shared calling circle.

Operation 3608 depicts accepting at least one of a voice telephonecommunication or a video telephone communication from at least onemember of a network. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204and/or recipient 3306 may accept at least one of a voice telephonecommunication or a video telephone communication from at least onemember of a network. In one embodiment, a FaceTime user may accept avideo telephone communication from another FaceTime user. In thisexample, FaceTime is a network that provides information about thesender, including username. The username may be used by sender profilecreation unit 3204 to search and find additional information about thesender (e.g., additional network participation data), perhaps for use ascontact information.

FIG. 37 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 37 illustrates example embodiments where theassociating operation 3420 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 3700, 3702, 3704,3706, and/or operation 3708.

Operation 3700 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a set of sender attributes at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data. For example, sender profilecreation unit 3204, device-identifier module 3206, and/ornetwork-participation identifier module 3220 may associate the at leastone telephone communication with a set of sender attributes at leastpartly based on the sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data. In one embodiment,device-identifier module 3206 may accept a telephone number associatedwith a telephone communication, and then search a telecommunicationscarrier database to find a name associated with the telephone number.Network-participation identifier module 3220 may then search one or moresocial networks to find network participation data for the nameassociated with the telephone number. In this example,network-participation identifier module 3220 may employ real-nameprofiling or de-anonymization to find sender attributes that are in someway connected to the recipient for disambiguation purposes and toprovide a full, rich set of network participation data for the recipientto keep as a resource in future communications with the sender.Together, the device identifier data such as the telephone number andthe network participation data such as social network participation datamay be compiled in a sender profile to be presented as a reference forrecipient 3306, for use either during the telephone communication or atany time after the telephone communication is ended.

Operation 3702 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a set of sender attributes at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data, wherein the sender attributesinclude at least one of a social network membership list, one or moresocial network usernames, one or more social network profile pictures,one or more mutual friend lists, or one or more social networkingwebsite-posted items. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204,device-identifier module 3206, and/or network-participation identifiermodule 3220 may associate the at least one telephone communication witha set of sender attributes at least partly based on the sender'sdevice-identifier data and the sender's network-participation identifierdata, wherein the sender attributes include at least one of a socialnetwork membership list, one or more social network usernames, one ormore social network profile pictures, one or more mutual friend lists,or one or more social networking website-posted items. In oneembodiment, device-identifier module 3206 may accept a telephone numberassociated with a telephone communication, and then search atelecommunications carrier database to find a name associated with thetelephone number. Network-participation identifier module 3220 may thensearch one or more social networks to find network participation datafor the name associated with the telephone number. In this example,network-participation identifier module 3220 may employ real-nameprofiling or de-anonymization to find sender attributes that are in someway connected to the recipient for disambiguation purposes and toprovide a full, rich set of network participation data for the recipientto keep as a resource in future communications with the sender. In someembodiments, network-participation identifier module 3220 may identifyconnections between the sender and the recipient in a social network,such as direct communication in a social network such as posting to aFacebook wall or photograph posted on Facebook with each of the senderand the recipient tagged in the same photograph. Together, the deviceidentifier data such as the telephone number and the networkparticipation data such as a list of shared friends on a social network(i.e., mutual friend list) may be compiled in a sender profile to bepresented as a reference for recipient 3306, for use either during thetelephone communication or at any time after the telephone communicationis ended.

Operation 3704 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a set of sender attributes at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data, wherein the sender attributesinclude at least one of an email address or a list of shared contacts.For example, sender profile creation unit 3204, device-identifier module3206, and/or network-participation identifier module 3220 may associatethe at least one telephone communication with a set of sender attributesat least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data and thesender's network-participation identifier data, wherein the senderattributes include at least one of an email address or a list of sharedcontacts. In one embodiment, device-identifier module 3206 may accept atelephone number, name, and device identifier associated with atelephone communication. Network-participation identifier module 3220may then search one or more social networks to find networkparticipation data for the name and/or device identifier associated withthe telephone number. In this example, network-participation identifiermodule 3220 may search the internet to find an email address or a listof contacts that are also contacts of the recipient of the telephonecommunication. Such information is useful to provide enhanced contactinformation about callers in telephone contact with recipients; it isparticularly useful for a recipient to be presented with an emailaddress for a caller automatically when a telephone call is occurring,or even shortly thereafter. In this application caller and sender aresynonymous.

Operation 3706 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a set of sender attributes at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data, wherein the sender attributesinclude at least one of a list of usernames, a list of online personas,or a list of aliases. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204,device-identifier module 3206, and/or network-participation identifiermodule 3220 may associate the at least one telephone communication witha set of sender attributes at least partly based on the sender'sdevice-identifier data and the sender's network-participation identifierdata, wherein the sender attributes include at least one of a list ofusernames, a list of online personas, or a list of aliases. In oneembodiment, device-identifier module 3206 may accept a telephone number,name, and device identifier associated with a telephone communication.Network-participation identifier module 3220 may then search one or morenetworks including the internet to find network participation data forthe name and/or device identifier associated with the telephone number.In this example, network-participation identifier module 3220 may searchthe internet to find usernames associated with the telephone number orname, usernames that signify membership in a social network such asLinkedIn or Facebook. Results indicating online personas linked to thesender can then be used to search for additional specific informationabout the sender, such as things in common with the recipient. In oneembodiment, a sender profile indicating membership in Facebook mayinclude a Facebook username that is different from the name associatedwith standard caller ID for the telephone communication, but whichprovides desired information for future social networkingactivity/communication between the sender and the recipient. Forexample, automatically getting the Facebook username during or shortlyafter the telecommunication allows the recipient to more easily initiatea Facebook friendship with the sender.

Operation 3708 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a set of sender attributes at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data, wherein the sender attributesinclude at least one of a twitter handle, a Facebook page, or a webaddress for a blog. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204,device-identifier module 3206, and/or network-participation identifiermodule 3220 may associate the at least one telephone communication witha set of sender attributes at least partly based on the sender'sdevice-identifier data and the sender's network-participation identifierdata, wherein the sender attributes include at least one of a twitterhandle, a Facebook page, or a web address for a blog. In one embodiment,device-identifier module 3206 may accept a telephone number, name, anddevice identifier associated with a telephone communication.Network-participation identifier module 3220 may then search one or morenetworks including the internet to find network participation data forthe name and/or device identifier associated with the telephone number.In this example, network-participation identifier module 3220 may searchthe internet to find twitter feeds or web pages associated with thetelephone number or name. Sender profiles including such twitter feedsor webpages, including social network webpages, may be of interest to arecipient/friend of the sender who would like to know more about theonline activities of the sender. In this example, sender profilecreation unit 3204 may automatically present to the recipient URL'sassociated with the sender for storage in, for example, the device onwhich the telephone communication is being conducted. This allows forinformation such as URL's to be recorded for the recipient without theneed for memorization, writing them down, or typing them or speakingthem into a device for storage.

FIG. 38 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 38 illustrates example embodiments where theassociating operation 3420 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 3800 and/oroperation 3802.

Operation 3800 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a set of sender attributes at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data, wherein the sender attributesinclude a history of interactions with a recipient of the at least onetelephone communication. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204,device-identifier module 3206, and/or network-participation identifiermodule 3220 may associate the at least one telephone communication witha set of sender attributes at least partly based on the sender'sdevice-identifier data and the sender's network-participation identifierdata, wherein the sender attributes include a history of interactionswith a recipient of the at least one telephone communication. In oneembodiment, sender 3201, a friend of recipient 3306, may have opted into transmitting with a telephone call to recipient 3306device-identifier data including telephone number, name, and deviceidentifier data associated with the telephone communication. In oneembodiment, the opt in includes sending to recipient 3306 and/or senderprofile creation unit 3204 basic network-participation identifier datasuch as email address and Facebook username. Network-participationidentifier module 3220 may then search one or more networks includingthe internet and/or social networks to find information about pastinteractions between the sender and recipient. Network-participationidentifier module 3220 may then associate those past interactions withthe telephone communication and present them as part of a senderprofile.

Operation 3802 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a set of sender attributes at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data, wherein the sender attributesinclude a history of interactions with a recipient of the at least onetelephone communication including at least one of an excerpted historyof interactions with a recipient of the at least one telephonecommunication, a recent history of interactions with a recipient of theat least one telephone communication, or a history of interactions witha recipient of the at least one telephone communication that is keyed toa specific topic. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204,device-identifier module 3206, and/or network-participation identifiermodule 3220 may associate the at least one telephone communication witha set of sender attributes at least partly based on the sender'sdevice-identifier data and the sender's network-participation identifierdata, wherein the sender attributes include a history of interactionswith a recipient of the at least one telephone communication includingat least one of an excerpted history of interactions with a recipient ofthe at least one telephone communication, a recent history ofinteractions with a recipient of the at least one telephonecommunication, or a history of interactions with a recipient of the atleast one telephone communication that is keyed to a specific topic. Inone embodiment, network-participation identifier module 3220 mayassociate the at least one telephone communication (e.g., by using thename associated with the telephone number as a search term) with aFacebook message thread between the sender and recipient. That messagethread may be placed by network-participation identifier module 3220into the sender profile. The record of the message thread in the senderprofile may be useful to recipient 3306 for reference purposes. Inanother embodiment, recipient 3306 may input by voice, keyboard or otherinput device a topic key word or phrase by which network-participationidentifier module 3220 may narrow the results of a social networkhistory of interactions, for example. In one embodiment, recipient 3306,upon being presented with a profile containing a name and Facebookusername, may type into her phone “christmas 2010 photos” as a directionfor network-participation identifier module 3220 to copy Christmas 2010photos from the sender's Facebook page to the sender profile on therecipient's phone.

FIG. 39 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 39 illustrates example embodiments where theassociating operation 3420 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 3900 and/oroperation 3902.

Operation 3900 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's telephone number and the sender's network-participationidentifier data. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204 and/ordevice-identifier module 3206 may associate the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's telephone number and the sender's network-participationidentifier data. For example, device-identifier module 3206 may accept asender's telephone number coincident with a telephone call. Caller ID(also termed caller identification or CID), also called calling lineidentification (CLID) or calling number identification (CNID) or CallingLine Identification Presentation (CLIP), is a telephone service,available in analog and digital phone systems and most Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) applications, that transmits a caller's numberto the called party's telephone equipment during the ringing signal, orwhen the call is being set up but before the call is answered. Caller IDmay be used to display a caller's telephone number and, in associationwith a database, the caller's name on a call recipient's telephone. Theinformation made available to the recipient may be displayed on atelephone's display or on a separately attached device.

In this example, caller ID may provide to device-identifier module 3206a sender's telephone number, which may in turn be used bynetwork-participation identifier module 3220 as a search term with whichto find additional information about, for example, the online activitiesof the sender 3201. Sender profile creation unit 3204 may then presentthe information in a profile to the recipient's phone during the call.Many telephonic devices allow for concurrent voice/video calling andinternet usage on the device.

Operation 3902 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one of subscriber identity module data, integrated circuit cardidentifier data, mobile equipment identifier data, international mobilesubscriber identity data, or electronic serial number data. For example,sender profile creation unit 3204 and/or device-identifier module 3206may associate the at least one telephone communication with a senderprofile at least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data andthe sender's network-participation identifier data, wherein the sender'sdevice identifier data includes at least one of subscriber identitymodule data, integrated circuit card identifier data, mobile equipmentidentifier data, international mobile subscriber identity data, orelectronic serial number data. In one embodiment, device-identifiermodule 3206 may accept SIM data with a telephone call, where the SIMdata includes, e.g., contact information from the sender's phone. In oneembodiment, contacts from the sender's phone that overlap with those ofthe recipient's phone may be placed in the sender's profile, or used tosync or update the contact list in the recipient's phone.

In another embodiment, device-identifier module 3206 may accept mobileequipment identifier data specific to the sender's phone during atelephone call, and use that MEI data to search a unique identifierdatabase, either for a single carrier or one that includes multiplecarriers as discussed above, to access information about the sender toassociate with the telephone communication and place in a senderprofile.

FIG. 40 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 40 illustrates example embodiments where theassociating operation 3420 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 4000, 4002, 4004,4006, 4008, and/or operation 4010.

Operation 4000 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor. For example, sender profile creation unit3204, device-identifier module 3206, mobile network identifier module3208, and/or brand identifier module 3210 may associate the at least onetelephone communication with a sender profile at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data, wherein the sender's deviceidentifier data includes at least one device descriptor. In oneembodiment, mobile network identifier module 3208 may accept a telephonecommunication from a sender over a wireless network together with anindication of the wireless carrier's name, such as AT&T, Verizon,Sprint, or the like. The name of the wireless carrier may be placed inthe sender profile for association with the telephone communication foruse by the recipient of the call, for example to determine whether thesender is in-network or out-of-network, whether the sender is within acalling circle of which the recipient is a member, or whether the senderhas a particular data transmission capacity (e.g., some wirelesscarriers have unlimited talk, text, and web plans). In one embodiment,details of the sender's calling plan may be accepted by mobile networkidentifier module 3208, placed in a sender profile, and associated withthe telephone communication.

Operation 4002 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor, and wherein the device descriptor includesat least one of a device name, a device brand, a device model, or adevice location. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204,device-identifier module 3206, mobile network identifier module 3208,and/or brand identifier module 3210 may associate the at least onetelephone communication with a sender profile at least partly based onthe sender's device-identifier data and the sender'snetwork-participation identifier data, wherein the sender's deviceidentifier data includes at least one device descriptor, and wherein thedevice descriptor includes at least one of a device name, a devicebrand, a device model, or a device location. In one embodiment, brandidentifier module 3210 may accept a telephone communication from asender over a wireless network together with an indication of the brandof the sender's calling device. The brand of the sender's calling devicemay be placed in the sender profile for association with the telephonecommunication for use by the recipient of the call, for example todetermine whether the sender's device is able to use certain operatingsystem-specific apps, such as FaceTime. In this example, sender profilecreation unit 3204 may associate a sender profile showing the sender'sdevice as an iPhone, which may indicate to the recipient that the senderis capable of communicating using the FaceTime video calling appoperable only on iOS and macOS devices.

Operation 4004 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor, and wherein the device descriptor includesat least one of mobile phone, computer, or television. For example,sender profile creation unit 3204, device-identifier module 3206, mobilenetwork identifier module 3208, and/or brand identifier module 3210 mayassociate the at least one telephone communication with a sender profileat least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data and thesender's network-participation identifier data, wherein the sender'sdevice descriptor includes at least one of mobile phone, computer, ortelevision. In one embodiment, device-identifier module 3206 may accepta VoIP telephone communication from a sender over a wireless networktogether with an indication that the sender's calling device is anetworked television. The sender's device-type information may be placedin the sender profile for association with the telephone communicationfor use by the recipient of the call, for example to help the recipientdecide whether to switch devices for initiating or continuing the call.In this example, sender profile creation unit 3204 may associate asender profile showing the sender's device as a networked television,which may tell the recipient that she can forward the call to a devicewith a larger screen if desired, particularly if the original call wasreceived on a relatively small mobile phone.

Operation 4006 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor, and wherein the device descriptor includesat least one of Apple, Motorola, HTC, LG, Samsung, Blackberry, or Nokia.For example, sender profile creation unit 3204, device-identifier module3206, mobile network identifier module 3208, and/or brand identifiermodule 3210 may associate the at least one telephone communication witha sender profile at least partly based on the sender's device-identifierdata and the sender's network-participation identifier data, wherein thesender's device descriptor includes at least one of Apple, Motorola,HTC, LG, Samsung, Blackberry, or Nokia. In one embodiment, brandidentifier module 3210 may accept a VoIP telephone communication from asender over a wireless network together with an indication that thesender's calling device is an HTC phone running the Android mobileoperating system. The sender's device brand and operating systeminformation may be placed in the sender profile for association with thetelephone communication for use by the recipient of the call, forexample to help the recipient decide whether to switch devices forinitiating or continuing the call. In this example, sender profilecreation unit 3204 may associate a sender profile showing the sender'sdevice as an HTC Android phone, which may tell the recipient that shemay want to switch devices to one running an Android OS if therecipient's phone (e.g., an iPhone) is not compatible with an Android OSapp that the recipient want to use with the sender.

Operation 4008 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor, and wherein the device descriptor includesa description of the network that the device is using. For example,sender profile creation unit 3204, device-identifier module 3206, mobilenetwork identifier module 3208, and/or brand identifier module 3210 mayassociate the at least one telephone communication with a sender profileat least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data and thesender's network-participation identifier data, wherein the sender'sdevice descriptor includes a description of the network that the deviceis using. In one embodiment, mobile network identifier module 3208 mayaccept a telephone communication from a sender over a wireless networktogether with an indication that the sender's calling device is sendingthe signal from a specific telecommunication carrier's wireless network,such as the Verizon network. The sender's network carrier may serve asan identifying feature of the sender's profile, and in one embodiment,that feature may be used to detect hacking of the sender's device. Forexample, if a friend with an iPhone known to be using the AT&T wirelessnetwork calls, but mobile network identifier module 3208 detects thatthe telephone number is associated with a different carrier, then senderprofile creation unit 3204 may record a security alert in the senderprofile associated with the telephone communication.

Operation 4010 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor, and wherein the device descriptor includesa description of the network that the device is using, and wherein thedescription of the network that the device is using includes at leastone of a packet-switched network, a circuit-switched network, a localnetwork, or a cellular telecommunications network. For example, senderprofile creation unit 3204, device-identifier module 3206, mobilenetwork identifier module 3208, and/or brand identifier module 3210 mayassociate the at least one telephone communication with a sender profileat least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data and thesender's network-participation identifier data, wherein the sender'sdevice descriptor includes a description of the network that the deviceis using, and wherein the description of the network that the device isusing includes at least one of a packet-switched network, acircuit-switched network, a local network, or a cellulartelecommunications network. In one embodiment, mobile network identifiermodule 3208 may accept a sender's telephone communication originatingfrom a wireless network together with an indication that the sender'ssignal originated from a 4G network, which is an all-internet protocolpacket-switched network. The sender's network carrier may indicate thenature of the network. For example, some networks have adopted the 4Gstandard ahead of others, some of which may employ circuit-switchednetworks in at least a portion of their overall network. Detection ofnetwork quality (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE, EDGE) and association of thatinformation by network identifier module 3208 in a sender profile with atelephone call may be helpful to a recipient in gauging the capabilitiesof the sender's device in terms of bandwidth capacity (e.g., datatransfer speed as measured in Mbit/second).

FIG. 41 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 41 illustrates example embodiments where theassociating operation 3420 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 4100 and/oroperation 4102.

Operation 4100 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor, and wherein the device descriptor includesgeographical information about the device. For example, sender profilecreation unit 3204, device-identifier module 3206, mobile networkidentifier module 3208, device locator module 3212, and/or brandidentifier module 3210 may associate the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor, and wherein the device descriptor includesgeographical information about the device. In one embodimentdevice-identifier module 3206 or device locator module 3212 may accept atelephone number coincident with a call from a sender and associate ageographical location with the telephone communication using the areacode or country code of the telephone number, which typicallycorresponds to a limited geographical region. Other geographicalinformation that may be accepted by device-identifier module 3206 ordevice locator module 3212 and associated with a sender profile includesinterne protocol address information which can be used to identify ageographical location of a sender's device. In one embodiment, IPaddress lookup services like those available from an online serviceprovider such as geobytes.com may be performed by device-identifiermodule 3206.

Operation 4102 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's device identifier data includes atleast one device descriptor, and wherein the device descriptor includesgeographical information about the device, and wherein the geographicalinformation about the device is derived from at least one of internetprotocol address, global positioning satellite data, cellular phonetower proximity, Wi-Fi use, user-entered location data, or proximity toat least one other device. For example, sender profile creation unit3204, device-identifier module 3206, mobile network identifier module3208, device locator module 3212, and/or brand identifier module 3210may associate the at least one telephone communication with a senderprofile at least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data andthe sender's network-participation identifier data, wherein the sender'sdevice identifier data includes at least one device descriptor, andwherein the device descriptor includes geographical information aboutthe device, and wherein the geographical information about the device isderived from at least one of internet protocol address, globalpositioning satellite data, cellular phone tower proximity, Wi-Fi use,user-entered location data, or proximity to at least one other device.In one embodiment device-identifier module 3206 or device locator module3212 may accept Wi-Fi use data coincident with a VoIP call from a senderand associate a geographical location as part of the sender profile withthe telephone communication using database of Wi-Fi hotspot locations toidentify where the Wi-Fi hotspot that the sender is using is located. Inanother embodiment, network-participation identifier module 3220 ordevice locator module 3212 may accept geodata coincident with a callfrom a sender in the form of a Foursquare checkin by the sender at aspecific business or map location, for example in Facebook.Network-participation identifier module 3220 may then associate thegeographical location as part of the sender profile with the telephonecommunication for presentation to recipient 3306.

FIG. 42 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 42 illustrates example embodiments where theassociating operation 3420 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 4200, 4202,and/or operation 4204.

Operation 4200 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's network-participation identifierdata includes a name in a telecommunications carrier database. Forexample, sender profile creation unit 3204 and/or network-participationidentifier module 3220 may associate the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, wherein the sender's network-participation identifierdata includes a name in a telecommunications carrier database. In oneembodiment network-participation identifier module 3220 may accept atelephone number coincident with a call from a sender and associate thetelephone number with a person's identity information on file with thetelecommunications carrier handling the call for the sender. In thisembodiment, a sender may opt-in to allowing the telecommunicationscarrier to transmit certain information about the identity linked to thetelephone number with the call. Such information may include publiclyavailable information such as name and address, or in some cases moreprivate information may be shared among designated calling circles, forexample within a designated private network. In this example, friendswho want to automatically keep other friends' contact informationup-to-date may allow their telecommunications carrier to transmit with aphone call their contact information including updates to, e.g., emailaddress, twitter account, Facebook profile picture, or the like.

Operation 4202 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a real-world person at least partly based on thereal-world person's device-identifier data and the real-world person'snetwork-participation identifier data. For example, sender profilecreation unit 3204, network-participation identifier module 3220, and/oridentity prediction module 3224 may associate the at least one telephonecommunication with a real-world person at least partly based on thereal-world person's device-identifier data and the real-world person'snetwork-participation identifier data. In one embodimentnetwork-participation identifier module 3220 may accept a telephonenumber and name associated with that number coincident with a call froma sender and employ identity prediction module 3224 to associate thename and telephone number (which may provide geographical information asdiscussed above to associate with the name for disambiguation purposes)with a real-world person's identity information, for example availablepublicly on the internet. In this embodiment, identity prediction modulemay associate a name associated with a sender's telephone number withinformation publicly available on the world wide web, such as emailaddress, home address, website URL, Facebook page, twitter handle, orthe like, and place that information in a sender profile for associationwith the telephone call and presentation to a recipient 3306.

Operation 4204 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data, including at least one of associating the at least onetelephone communication with a sender profile using identity prediction,associating the at least one telephone communication with a senderprofile using de-anonymization, or associating the at least onetelephone communication with a sender profile using real-name profiling.For example, sender profile creation unit 3204, network-participationidentifier module 3220, identity prediction module 3224,de-anonymization module 3226, and/or real-name profiling module 3228 mayassociate the at least one telephone communication with a sender profileat least partly based on the sender's device-identifier data and thesender's network-participation identifier data, including at least oneof associating the at least one telephone communication with a senderprofile using identity prediction, associating the at least onetelephone communication with a sender profile using de-anonymization, orassociating the at least one telephone communication with a senderprofile using real-name profiling. In one embodiment de-anonymizationmodule 3226 may accept device identifier data from an otherwiseanonymous sender's device during a telephone call and associate it witha name and network participation information. Any device-identifierinformation may provide a starting point for a de-anonymizationalgorithm. For example, wireless network information or device IDinformation may be used in a de-anonymization attempt wherebyde-anonymization module 3226 identifies a small number of seed nodeswhich are present both in the anonymous target graph and an auxiliarygraph, and maps them to each other. A propagation stage may then becarried out in which the seed mapping is extended to new nodes usingonly the topology of the network, and the new mapping is fed back to thealgorithm. The eventual result is a large mapping between subgraphs ofthe auxiliary and target networks which re-identifies all mapped nodesin the latter. In one embodiment, de-anonymization module 3226 maypartially de-anonymize an otherwise anonymous telephone call correlatingits number or other device or network identifier with a catalogmerchants' telephone order database or other database. De-anonymizationmodule 3226 may then place the partly de-anonymized information aboutthe call in a sender profile for presentation, for example, to recipient3306.

FIG. 43 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 43 illustrates example embodiments where theassociating operation 3420 may include at least one additionaloperation. Additional operations may include operation 4300.

Operation 4300 depicts associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a real-world person at least partly based on thereal-world person's device-identifier data and the real-world person'snetwork-participation identifier data, including at least one ofassociating the at least one telephone communication with a real-worldperson using web history tracking, associating the at least onetelephone communication with a real-world person using media contenttracking, or associating the at least one telephone communication with areal-world person using app data tracking. For example, sender profilecreation unit 3204, network-participation identifier module 3220,identity prediction module 3224, web history tracking module 3230, mediacontent tracking module 3232, and/or app data tracking module 3234 mayassociate the at least one telephone communication with a real-worldperson at least partly based on the real-world person'sdevice-identifier data and the real-world person's network-participationidentifier data, including at least one of associating the at least onetelephone communication with a real-world person using web historytracking, associating the at least one telephone communication with areal-world person using media content tracking, or associating the atleast one telephone communication with a real-world person using appdata tracking. In one embodiment, app data tracking module 3234 mayassociate iPhone UDID information with a user account, a Facebook page,or to GPS coordinates. Such associations have been reported, forexample, based on data transmitted to OpenFeint, a mobile social gamingcompany (see the blog post athttp://corte.si/posts/security/openfeint-udid-deanonymization/index.html).Research shows that 68% of iOS apps silently send UDIDs to servers onthe Internet. This is often accompanied by information on how, when andwhere the device is used. The most common destination for trafficcontaining a user's UDID is Apple itself, followed by the Flurry mobileanalytics network and OpenFeint. These companies are aggregators ofUDID-linked user information, because so many apps use their APIs. Afterthe big three are thousands of individual developer sites, ad servers,and smaller analytics firms.

It is possible to use OpenFeint to de-anonymize a large proportion ofUDIDs. Further, when an OpenFeint-enabled app is started, it submits thedevice's UDID to OpenFeint's servers, which then return a list ofassociated accounts:https://api.openfeint.com/users/for_device.xml?udid=XXX. This is anunauthenticated call. Included is the user's latitude and longitude, thelast game played (i.e., app used), chosen account name, and Facebookprofile picture URL. Some portions of the OpenFeint API return a userlocation as well.

If the user registered a Facebook account with OpenFeint, a profilepicture URL hosted by the Facebook CDN was returned in the user'sprofile data. Facebook profile picture URLs include the user's FacebookID, directly linking it to their Facebook account. This represents acomplete de-anonymization of the UDID, directly linking the supposedlyanonymous identifier with a user's real-world identity. Also, it hasbeen reported that Scoreloop, a cross platform mobile gaming SDK forvirtual currency, partially discloses users' friends lists, even if theyare private. One test of seven networks revealed that all seven networksallowed UDIDs to be linked to potentially identifying user information,ranging from usernames to email addresses, friends lists and privatemessages (See http://corte.si/posts/security/udid-must-die/index.html).Such connections may be used by, for example media content trackingmodule 3232, to assemble a sender profile, associate it with a telephonecommunication and present it to a recipient 3306.

FIG. 44 illustrates alternative embodiments of the example operationalflow 3400 of FIG. 34. FIG. 44 illustrates example embodiments where thepresenting operation 3430 may include at least one additional operation.Additional operations may include operations 4400, 4402, and/oroperation 4404.

Operation 4400 depicts displaying on a mobile device the sender profilein association with the at least one telephone communication. Forexample, sender profile creation unit 3204 and/or display module 3240may display on a mobile device the sender profile in association withthe at least one telephone communication. In one embodiment, a senderprofile may be displayed on a mobile device capable of onlineinteraction at the same time that a telephone call is occurring on themobile device. In this embodiment, additional information may be addedto the sender profile in a dynamic fashion as the telephone callprogresses. For example, additional data may be sent by the sender'sdevice as the call progresses, and that data such as photos, locationdata, or voice data, may be used to update the sender profile as newdata comes in to the sender profile creation unit 3204. Similarly,information may be deleted from the sender profile as appropriate basedon new data accepted during the call, or sender profile data may bealtered as necessary to reflect, for example, changes in state of thesender's device such as location changes. Display of the sender profilemay thus occur during the call and change dynamically during the call toprovide a real-time profile of the sender.

Operation 4402 depicts presenting the sender profile in association withthe at least one telephone communication via a personal softwareassistant. For example, sender profile creation unit 3204, personalsoftware assistant 3216, SIRI 3218, and/or display module 3240 maypresent the sender profile in association with the at least onetelephone communication via a personal software assistant. In oneembodiment, a sender profile may be described to a recipient via voicefrom a mobile device running a personal software assistant capable oftranslating information about the sender into voice. In this embodiment,information about the sender profile may be accessible to a recipientfor whom visual review of a sender profile is inconvenient or unlawful(e.g., while driving) or impossible (e.g., for the blind).

Operation 4404 depicts presenting the sender profile in association withthe at least one telephone communication via a personal softwareassistant, wherein the personal software assistant is SIRI. For example,sender profile creation unit 3204, personal software assistant 3216,SIRI 3218, and/or display module 3240 may present the sender profile inassociation with the at least one telephone communication via a personalsoftware assistant, wherein the personal software assistant is SIRI. Inone embodiment, a sender profile may be described to a recipient viavoice from an iPhone4S mobile device running SIRI, a popular personalsoftware assistant. SIRI is capable of accessing a sender profile andperforming state changes, for example, to a recipient's contact listbased on information from a sender profile.

FIG. 45 illustrates a partial view of an example article of manufacture4500 that includes a computer program 4504 for executing a computerprocess on a computing device. An embodiment of the example article ofmanufacture 4500 is provided including a signal bearing medium 4502, andmay include one or more instructions for accepting at least onetelephone communication from at least one member of a network; one ormore instructions for associating the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data; and one or more instructions for presenting the senderprofile in association with the at least one telephone communication.The one or more instructions may be, for example, computer executableand/or logic-implemented instructions. In one implementation, thesignal-bearing medium 4502 may include a computer-readable medium 4506.In one implementation, the signal bearing medium 4502 may include arecordable medium 4508. In one implementation, the signal bearing medium4502 may include a communications medium 4510.

FIG. 46 illustrates an example system 4600 in which embodiments may beimplemented. The system 4600 includes a computing system environment.The system 4600 also illustrates a user 4612 using a device 4604, whichis optionally shown as being in communication with a computing device4602 by way of an optional coupling 4606. The optional coupling 4606 mayrepresent a local, wide-area, or peer-to-peer network, or may representa bus that is internal to a computing device (e.g., in exampleembodiments in which the computing device 4602 is contained in whole orin part within the device 4604). A storage medium 4608 may be anycomputer storage media. In one embodiment, the computing device 4602 mayinclude a virtual machine operating within another computing device. Inan alternative embodiment, the computing device 4602 may include avirtual machine operating within a program running on a remote server.

The computing device 4602 includes computer-executable instructions 4610that when executed on the computing device 4602 cause the computingdevice 4602 to (a) accept at least one telephone communication from atleast one member of a network; (b) associate the at least one telephonecommunication with a sender profile at least partly based on thesender's device-identifier data and the sender's network-participationidentifier data; and (c) present the sender profile in association withthe at least one telephone communication. As referenced above and asshown in FIG. 46, in some examples, the computing device 4602 mayoptionally be contained in whole or in part within the device 4604.

In FIG. 46, then, the system 4600 includes at least one computing device(e.g., 4602 and/or 4604). The computer-executable instructions 4610 maybe executed on one or more of the at least one computing device. Forexample, the computing device 4602 may implement the computer-executableinstructions 4610 and output a result to (and/or receive data from) thecomputing device 4604. Since the computing device 4602 may be wholly orpartially contained within the computing device 4604, the device 4604also may be said to execute some or all of the computer-executableinstructions 4610, in order to be caused to perform or implement, forexample, various ones of the techniques described herein, or othertechniques.

The device 4604 may include, for example, a portable computing device,workstation, or desktop computing device. In another example embodiment,the computing device 4602 is operable to communicate with the device4604 associated with the user 4612 to receive information about theinput from the user 4612 for performing data access and data processing,and present a sender profile in association with the at least onetelephone communication.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein describedcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and the discussionaccompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptualclarity and that various configuration modifications are contemplated.Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplars set forth and theaccompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their moregeneral classes. In general, use of any specific exemplar is intended tobe representative of its class, and the non-inclusion of specificcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be takenlimiting.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specificexemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies arerepresentative of more general processes and/or devices and/ortechnologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filedherewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.

Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the arthas progressed to the point where there is little distinction leftbetween hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; theuse of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that incertain contexts the choice between hardware and software can becomesignificant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs.Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are variousvehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologiesdescribed herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/orfirmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context inwhich the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies aredeployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed andaccuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardwareand/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, theimplementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet againalternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles bywhich the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies describedherein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to theother in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon thecontext in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns(e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any ofwhich may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that opticalaspects of implementations will typically employ optically-orientedhardware, software, and or firmware.

In some implementations described herein, logic and similarimplementations may include software or other control structures.Electronic circuitry, for example, may have one or more paths ofelectrical current constructed and arranged to implement variousfunctions as described herein. In some implementations, one or moremedia may be configured to bear a device-detectable implementation whensuch media hold or transmit a device detectable instructions operable toperform as described herein. In some variants, for example,implementations may include an update or modification of existingsoftware or firmware, or of gate arrays or programmable hardware, suchas by performing a reception of or a transmission of one or moreinstructions in relation to one or more operations described herein.Alternatively or additionally, in some variants, an implementation mayinclude special-purpose hardware, software, firmware components, and/orgeneral-purpose components executing or otherwise invokingspecial-purpose components. Specifications or other implementations maybe transmitted by one or more instances of tangible transmission mediaas described herein, optionally by packet transmission or otherwise bypassing through distributed media at various times.

Alternatively or additionally, implementations may include executing aspecial-purpose instruction sequence or invoking circuitry for enabling,triggering, coordinating, requesting, or otherwise causing one or moreoccurrences of virtually any functional operations described herein. Insome variants, operational or other logical descriptions herein may beexpressed as source code and compiled or otherwise invoked as anexecutable instruction sequence. In some contexts, for example,implementations may be provided, in whole or in part, by source code,such as C++, or other code sequences. In other implementations, sourceor other code implementation, using commercially available and/ortechniques in the art, may be compiled//implemented/translated/convertedinto a high-level descriptor language (e.g., initially implementingdescribed technologies in C or C++ programming language and thereafterconverting the programming language implementation into alogic-synthesizable language implementation, a hardware descriptionlanguage implementation, a hardware design simulation implementation,and/or other such similar mode(s) of expression). For example, some orall of a logical expression (e.g., computer programming languageimplementation) may be manifested as a Verilog-type hardware description(e.g., via Hardware Description Language (HDL) and/or Very High SpeedIntegrated Circuit Hardware Descriptor Language (VHDL)) or othercircuitry model which may then be used to create a physicalimplementation having hardware (e.g., an Application Specific IntegratedCircuit). Those skilled in the art will recognize how to obtain,configure, and optimize suitable transmission or computational elements,material supplies, actuators, or other structures in light of theseteachings.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designingthe circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capableof being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, andthat an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described hereinapplies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium usedto actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearingmedium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable typemedium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), aDigital Video Disk (DVD), a digital tape, a computer memory, etc.; and atransmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analogcommunication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wiredcommunications link, a wireless communication link (e.g., transmitter,receiver, transmission logic, reception logic, etc.), etc.).

In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that thevarious aspects described herein which can be implemented, individuallyand/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware,and/or any combination thereof can be viewed as being composed ofvarious types of “electrical circuitry.” Consequently, as used herein“electrical circuitry” includes, but is not limited to, electricalcircuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electricalcircuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitryhaving at least one application specific integrated circuit, electricalcircuitry forming a general purpose computing device configured by acomputer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by acomputer program which at least partially carries out processes and/ordevices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computerprogram which at least partially carries out processes and/or devicesdescribed herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g.,forms of memory (e.g., random access, flash, read only, etc.)), and/orelectrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem,communications switch, optical-electrical equipment, etc.). Those havingskill in the art will recognize that the subject matter described hereinmay be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combinationthereof.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that at least a portion of thedevices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a dataprocessing system. Those having skill in the art will recognize that adata processing system generally includes one or more of a system unithousing, a video display device, memory such as volatile or non-volatilememory, processors such as microprocessors or digital signal processors,computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphicaluser interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interactiondevices (e.g., a touch pad, a touch screen, an antenna, etc.), and/orcontrol systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g.,feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for movingand/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A data processing systemmay be implemented utilizing suitable commercially available components,such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/ornetwork computing/communication systems.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the artto implement devices and/or processes and/or systems, and thereafter useengineering and/or other practices to integrate such implemented devicesand/or processes and/or systems into more comprehensive devices and/orprocesses and/or systems. That is, at least a portion of the devicesand/or processes and/or systems described herein can be integrated intoother devices and/or processes and/or systems via a reasonable amount ofexperimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize thatexamples of such other devices and/or processes and/or systems mightinclude—as appropriate to context and application—all or part of devicesand/or processes and/or systems of (a) an air conveyance (e.g., anairplane, rocket, helicopter, etc.), (b) a ground conveyance (e.g., acar, truck, locomotive, tank, armored personnel carrier, etc.), (c) abuilding (e.g., a home, warehouse, office, etc.), (d) an appliance(e.g., a refrigerator, a washing machine, a dryer, etc.), (e) acommunications system (e.g., a networked system, a telephone system, aVoice over IP system, etc.), (f) a business entity (e.g., an InternetService Provider (ISP) entity such as Comcast Cable, Century Link,Southwestern Bell, etc.), or (g) a wired/wireless services entity (e.g.,Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, etc.), etc.

In certain cases, use of a system or method may occur in a territoryeven if components are located outside the territory. For example, in adistributed computing context, use of a distributed computing system mayoccur in a territory even though parts of the system may be locatedoutside of the territory (e.g., relay, server, processor, signal-bearingmedium, transmitting computer, receiving computer, etc. located outsidethe territory).

A sale of a system or method may likewise occur in a territory even ifcomponents of the system or method are located and/or used outside theterritory.

Further, implementation of at least part of a system for performing amethod in one territory does not preclude use of the system in anotherterritory.

All of the above U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications,U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applicationsand non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/orlisted in any application Data Sheet are incorporated herein byreference, to the extent not inconsistent herewith.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures may beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected,” or“operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable,” to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents, and/or wirelessly interactable, and/or wirelesslyinteracting components, and/or logically interacting, and/or logicallyinteractable components.

In some instances, one or more components may be referred to herein as“configured to,” “configured by,” “configurable to,” “operable/operativeto,” “adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc.Those skilled in the art will recognize that such terms (e.g.“configured to”) can generally encompass active-state components and/orinactive-state components and/or standby-state components, unlesscontext requires otherwise.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations are not expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to claims containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “Aor B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art willappreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed inany order. Also, although various operational flows are presented in asequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may beperformed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may beperformed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may includeoverlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental,preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variantorderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like“responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives aregenerally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictatesotherwise.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopeand spirit being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request; circuitry configured to transmit the at least one social networking content in association with at least one ad server content to the at least one user device responsive to the at least one request, the at least one user device associated with at least one opt-in for sharing at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data related to the at least one ad server content and the at least one user device; circuitry configured to associate the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data with the at least one ad server content in at least one user profile related to the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one anonymization associated with at least one real-world person and at least one identifier of at least one good or at least one service associated with at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person; circuitry configured to match the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person with at least one anonymization of the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; and circuitry configured to present at least a portion of the at least one user profile in association with the at least one good or at least one service at least partially based on matching the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person with the at least one anonymization of the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data indicative of associated with at least one social network user associated with the at least one request comprises: circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of at least one telephone number as device-identifier data or at least one email address as network-participation identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to match the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person with at least one anonymization of the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data comprises: circuitry configured to perform at least one one-way hash on the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data to anonymize the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; and circuitry configured to match the at least one one-way hash with the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person, the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person representative of the at least one one-way hash performed on at least one identifier associated with the at least one real-world person previous to receipt of the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request comprises: circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of at least one international mobile subscriber identity of the at least one user device, at least one integrated circuit card identifier of the at least one user device, at least one international mobile equipment identifier of the at least one user device, at least one temporary mobile subscriber identity of the at least one user device, at least one mobile equipment identifier of the at least one user device, at least one mobile device identifier of the at least one user device, at least one electronic serial number of the at least one user device, at least one unique device identifier of the at least one user device, at least one internet protocol address of the at least one user device, or at least one media access control address of the at least one user device as device-identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request comprises: circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one indication of at least one of at least one email address associated with the at least one user device, at least one username associated with the at least one user device, at least one social networking username associated with the at least one user device, at least one website login associated with the at least one user device, or at least one handle associated with the at least one user device as network-participation identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one anonymization associated with at least one real-world person and at least one identifier of at least one good or at least one service associated with at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person comprises: circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one one-way hash of at least one identifier associated with the at least one real-world person, the at least one one-way hash performed on the at least one identifier associated with the at least one real-world person previous to receipt of the at least some transaction data and subsequent to receiving the at least one identifier from the at least one real-world person in conjunction with at least one transaction associated with the at least some transaction data.
 7. A system, comprising: means for receiving at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request; means for transmitting the at least one social networking content in association with at least one ad server content to the at least one user device responsive to the at least one request, the at least one user device associated with at least one opt-in for sharing at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data related to the at least one ad server content and the at least one user device; means for associating the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data with the at least one ad server content in at least one user profile related to the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; means for receiving at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one anonymization associated with at least one real-world person and at least one identifier of at least one good or at least one service associated with at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person; means for matching the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person with at least one anonymization of the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; and means for presenting at least a portion of the at least one user profile in association with the at least one good or at least one service at least partially based on matching the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person with the at least one anonymization of the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data.
 8. A method, comprising: receiving at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request; transmitting the at least one social networking content in association with at least one ad server content to the at least one user device responsive to the at least one request, the at least one user device associated with at least one opt-in for sharing at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data related to the at least one ad server content and the at least one user device; associating the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data with the at least one ad server content in at least one user profile related to the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; receiving at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one anonymization associated with at least one real-world person and at least one identifier of at least one good or at least one service associated with at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person; matching the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person with at least one anonymization of the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; and presenting at least a portion of the at least one user profile in association with the at least one good or at least one service at least partially based on matching the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person with the at least one anonymization of the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one anonymization associated with at least one real-world person and at least one identifier of at least one good or at least one service associated with at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person comprises: circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one one-way hash associated with at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address as the at least one identifier, the at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address provided by the at least one real-world person in association with the at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person, the at least one one-way hash performed on and operable to anonymize the at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address previous to transmission of the at least some transaction data.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to associate the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data with the at least one ad server content in at least one user profile related to the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data comprises: circuitry configured to determine whether at least one anonymization of the accepted at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data matches at least one anonymization in at least one database; and circuitry configured for storing at least one indication of the at least one ad server content in the at least one database at least partially based on the determining whether the at least one anonymization of the accepted at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data matches the at least one anonymization in the at least one database.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to transmit the at least one social networking content in association with at least one ad server content to the at least one user device responsive to the at least one request, the at least one user device associated with at least one opt-in for sharing at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data related to the at least one ad server content and the at least one user device comprises: circuitry configured to transmit the at least one social networking content in association with at least one ad server content to the at least one user device responsive to the at least one request, the at least one user device not associated with an opt-out for sharing at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation-identifier data related to the at least one ad server content and the at least one user device.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to associate the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data with the at least one ad server content in at least one user profile related to the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data comprises: circuitry configured to perform at least one one-way hash on at least one telephone number as at least one received device-identifier.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to associate the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data with the at least one ad server content in at least one user profile related to the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data comprises: circuitry configured to perform at least one one-way hash on at least one email address as at least one received network-participation identifier.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one one-way hash associated with at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address as the at least one identifier, the at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address provided by the at least one real-world person in association with the at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person, the at least one one-way hash performed on and operable to anonymize the at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address previous to transmission of the at least some transaction data comprises: circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one one-way hash associated with at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address as the at least one identifier, the at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address provided by the at least one real-world person in association with the at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person, at least one location of the at least one purchase including at least one vendor physical establishment.
 15. The system of claim 9, wherein circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one one-way hash associated with at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address as the at least one identifier, the at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address provided by the at least one real-world person in association with the at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person, the at least one one-way hash performed on and operable to anonymize the at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address previous to transmission of the at least some transaction data comprises: circuitry configured to receive at least some transaction data, the at least some transaction data including at least one one-way hash associated with at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address as the at least one identifier, the at least one of at least one telephone number or at least one email address provided by the at least one real-world person in association with the at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person, at least one location of the at least one purchase including at least one online store.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to present at least a portion of the at least one user profile in association with the at least one good or at least one service at least partially based on matching the at least one anonymization associated with the at least one real-world person with the at least one anonymization of the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data comprises: circuitry configured to present at least one indication of at least one ad server content related to the at least one good or at least one service and at least one anonymized indication of the at least one purchase by the at least one real-world person of the at least one good or at least one service related to the at least one ad server content subsequent to the at least one user device receiving the at least one ad server content.
 17. The system of claim 6, wherein circuitry configured to associate the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data with the at least one ad server content in at least one user profile related to the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data comprises: circuitry configured to create at least one set of anonymized personal information corresponding to the at least one user device at least partially via performing at least one one-way hash on the accepted at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; and circuitry configured to store in at least one database the created at least one set of anonymized personal information corresponding to the at least one user device in association with storing at least one indication of at least one good or at least one service related to the at least one ad-server content.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to transmit the at least one social networking content in association with at least one ad server content to the at least one user device responsive to the at least one request, the at least one user device associated with at least one opt-in for sharing at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data related to the at least one ad server content and the at least one user device comprises: circuitry configured to transmit the at least one social networking content in association with at least one ad server content to the at least one user device responsive to the at least one request, the at least one user device associated with at least one opt-in granted in conjunction with access to the at least one social networking content for sharing at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data related to the at least one ad server content and the at least one user device.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to associate the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data with the at least one ad server content in at least one user profile related to the received at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data comprises: circuitry configured to obtain at least one unique hexadecimal representation of the accepted at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data, the at least one unique hexadecimal representation operable to anonymize the accepted at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data; and circuitry configured to maintain a relationship between the at least one unique hexadecimal representation and the at least one ad server content transmitted to the at least one user device in a data store.
 20. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking content from at least one user device, including at least receiving at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request comprises: circuitry configured to receive at least one request for at least one social networking website-posted item, the at least one request received from at least one user device associated with at least one sender attribute, the at least one sender attribute including at least one social network username indicative of at least one social network user associated with the at least one request, the at least one social network username including at least one of device-identifier data or network-participation identifier data. 